Lebensraum

background info:
With every passing minute, our planet is home to 150 more of us. At the same time the sea levels will rise another 3 or 4 feet on average. 40% of the world‘s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast. That means that we destroy our living space, in German "Lebensraum".

concept:
With "Lebensraum", I want to invite each participant to use their own muscle power to control the growth of our species. I have reduced the real conditions we are facing to a form of physical experiment. The problem of overpopulation, the resulting destruction of our living space and the steady rise in sea levels, have been put into a visual context.
Pressing on the pump causes heads to appear. If too many heads are pumped up, the available space expands, but the rising water level problem worsens.
Just a few movements of the pump should make it clear to participants where this experiment is headed. The question is: how do we deal with this responsibility – do we keep pumping and see more and more heads pushed under the water or do we halt the process before this can happen?
In my work, I want to engage with the phenomenon that, although we have recognized the problem of overpopulation and the resulting destruction of our environment, this realization is not usually reflected in our actions. "Lebensraum" renders this contradiction tangible. Each participant unconsciously assumes the role of the entire human race; an individual standing for the collective. By means of his or her actions, the participant gets to determine how much growth is good for our planet.
If all the heads are inflated at the end, the water will almost completely flood the space and the following error message "UNEXPECTED ERROR. RECOVERING LIVING SPACE" will appear for one minute. The participant will see the maximum growth as an unexpected error. Unlike in reality, the program can renew the required living space.