The initial plan was to put the nitrogen oxide bottles in the gallery, to put a sign on the wall reading HAPPINESS and see what happens. I was expecting that laughing would be a form of a non-existing object. My intention was to make forced happiness a form of art. However, the project evolved in another direction. I adapted this idea to the reality of Chorzów, Poland, where happiness became FREUDE due to German connotations. In FREUDE I take a tour around the city Chorzów while breathing laughing gas to make me feel better. Because of the gas, I cannot see the dirt and ugliness of this forgotten, useless place. Instead, I see beautiful architecture, happy people, and kids playing in the streets. I feel a pleasant bliss. With FREUDE, I went back in time, to the 19th and early 20th centuries which were a time of prosperity brought by the Bismarck Ironworks in Chorzow (Hajduki) – a city in southern Poland.
The initial plan was to put the nitrogen oxide bottles in the art gallery, to make sign on the wall reading HAPPINESS and see what happens. I was expecting that laughing would be a form of a non-existing object. My intention was to make forced happiness a form of art. However, the project evolved in another direction. I adapted this idea to the reality of Chorzów, Poland, where happiness became FREUDE due to German connotations. In FREUDE I am taking a tour around the city Chorzów while beating laughing gas to make me feel better. Because of the gas, I cannot see the dirt and ugliness of this forgotten, useless place. Instead, see beautiful architecture, happy people, and kids playing in the streets. I can fell a pleasant bliss. With FREUDE, I went back in time, to the 19th and early 20th century which was a time of prosperity brought by Bismarck Ironworks in Chorzow (Hajduki) – a city in southern Poland.