1994
Pipilotti Rist
Selbstos in Lavabad
1994
Photo by Michael Moran
Courtesy P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Selbstlos im Lavabad is comprised of a small video embedded in a hole on the floor. In the video, the artist swims nude in an incandescent lava bath and cries out “I am a worm and you are a flower!” This video was first exhibited in Basel, Switzerland in 1994. In a later exhibition in Zürich, Switzerland, the video was placed at the foot of a Madonna and Child sculpture emphasizing the religious notion of damnation as suggested by the video.
Selbstlos im Lavabad is located in the Lobby floorboards.
Long-term installations can be seen all year-round at P.S.1. Works by an impressive roster of artists, such as Richard Serra, James Turrell, Pipilloti Rist and William Kentridge, are on view throughout the building. They range in scale and medium; some are obvious to the eye, while others are so ingrained in the environment, the act of discovery becomes part of the process. All are site-specific, inspired by the building's history as a school and a haven for contemporary artists. Since P.S.1 is the largest non-collecting contemporary art institution in the world, these works belong to the artists. Thus, it is due to their generosity and ongoing friendship with P.S.1 that we are able to share their creations with our visitors.