The Puff Up Club was founded in the context of the exhibition “Alexander Calder & Fischli/Weiss” ➝ at Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, Switzerland.
The exhibition was devoted to the American artist Alexander Calder and Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss. It focussed on the fleeting, precarious and exhilarating moment of fragile balance as expressed through the works of Calder and Fischli/Weiss in the early- and late-twentieth century, respectively.
Visitors of puffup.club needed to team up in order to puff up the balloon. Their progress was streamed live from a physical installation located at our studio in Amsterdam.
We have always been intrigued by the elegance in terms of engineering in the works of Peter Fischli & David Weiss and Calder. Simple effective constructions that create a state described as ‘fragile balance’ or as ‘An exciting moment of precariousness and tension’ in the context of this exhibition.
Our aim was to create an online installation that could bring people together as a group in order to change something in the real world. We invite the audience to come and click a button. Together we will inflate the balloon. In our hearts we know what the outcome will be. The tension slowly builds.. Not yet…Not yet.. Only a few people will be there to witness the final moment. Not yet… Wait for it… Now!