X-Fois Gens Chaise, or X-Times People Chair, is a site-specific piece that has been created by a German artist Angie Hiesl. There are performances held occasionally during which selected people between the age of 60 and 70 are chosen to sit on these. These are metal white chairs which are attached to the façade of various buildings. When the performers sit on these chairs which are set up atleast 20 feet above the ground, they start play-acting. They are supposed to do everyday activities while being perched high above the ground. These activities include newspaper reading, folding clothes, knitting, eating a snack and etc.
The project is one-of-a-kind and it manages to pull off a light one of the passersby. They can’t help but notice the old ladies or gentlemen perched happily above the ground and that too at a 20 feet high pedestal doing some daily routine activity. The designer Hiesl intends to transform a public place that is already famous into something that is more close to real or in other words she want to do a ‘rearrangement of reality’ in her words.
While performing, these senior citizens are to ignore the staring crowd of people and continue with their act. When they have acted enough and their time is up, they simply climb down the 20 feet with the help of a ladder and walk away which stuns the crowds all the more.
Hiesl is known well enough for producing arty decorations for public spaces and she has gone ahead with showing these all over Europe as well as in South America. You can have a look at the live reactions of the public to these displays with the YouTube video posted below.
