Erik Berglin, Planking Piece, Video loop 139:06 min, 2012
“Planking is an activity consisting of lying face down – sometimes in an unusual or incongruous location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body. Some players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to perform this act while others do it in ordinary situations.
The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it’s supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body is suspended. An important aspect of this activity is to share the pictures through social media. Famous artist such as Dennis Oppenheimm, Douglas Huebler and Erwin Wurm has all made work that reminds of planking and the title of this work refers to Ray Charles Plank Piece.
The concept for planking is simple, which allows for almost anyone, anywhere in the world, without regards of class, gender, age or ethnicity to perform this act. There are thousands of images with people planking, the selection in this work takes us on a trip around the world, to popular tourist destinations, to private homes and offices. Some images are from spectacular places taken with great risk while others are made within the safety of there own backyard. In a way it provides an mirror of what the world looks like today.”
[via collect the wwworld]