during the 2020 engadin art talks, danish artist jeppe hein invited the audience to paint their own individual ‘breath’ as part of his ongoing public participatory artwork, breathe with me. titled when I stop thinking then I really am, the performance, which designboom had the chance to take part in, saw each exhale take the form of a painted blue parallel line on the artwork’s canvas walls. together, all the painted ‘breaths’ visualize our individual awareness of ourselves, but also of our communities, societies, and environment, ultimately presenting a collective breath of the world.

breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue lines
image © designboom

 

 

jeppe hein is widely known for his production of experiential and interactive artworks that can be positioned at the junction where art, architecture, and technical inventions intersect. he first started painting watercolor strokes during his breathing watercolors project, where he painted a repetitive pattern of vertical blue stripes onto a white paper or wall. ‘conscious breathing became an important element in my new life, after I experienced a personal breakdown almost ten years ago,’ hein notes. ‘the awareness with my breath enables me to balance out the body and mind in all circumstances of life.’breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue lines
image © designboom

 

 

breathe with me evolved from breathing watercolors when the danish artist began to ask visitors of his solo exhibitions to paint their breath on the museum’s walls too, encouraging them to focus on their body and mind at the present moment, and to reflect on themselves and the world around them. ‘life begins with an inhale and ends with an exhale,’ states hein. ‘in-between we all breathe and live different lives. and yet, each breath keeps us together, connected, sharing the same air.’

breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesimage ©  designboom

 

 

before the participatory performance at the 2020 engadin art talks, which this year revolved arounf the theme of silent – listen, breathe with me took place in new york city, where hein invited audiences to paint their own individual ‘breath’ on a series of canvas walls. as an artwork that speaks to many urgent issues of the united nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 global goals – from good health, to strong communities and climate action – jeppe hein and art 2030, a non-profit organization uniting art with the UN agenda, initiated breathe with me first at the UN headquarters and in central park during the 74th session of the united nations general assembly from 21 to 27 of september 2019. the artwork coincided with this years’ official focus on climate action.breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesimage ©  designboom breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesartist jeppe hein during the engadin art talks

image ©  designboombreathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesimage ©  designboom breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesimage ©  designboombreathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesimage courtesy of studio jeppe hein breathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesfirst breathers: hans ulrich obrist / artistic director of the serpentine galleries

image courtesy of studio jeppe heinbreathe with me by jeppe hein: every exhale takes the form of painted blue linesfirst breathers: bjarke ingels & ruth otero / BIG architects

image courtesy of studio jeppe hein

 

 

engadin art talks

 

E.A.T. / engadin art talks is an annual forum and festival for art, architecture, design, fashion, film, science, and literature which takes place in zuoz, switzerland. E.A.T.’s mission is to provide an interdisciplinary platform for a global dialogue on the arts and different creative fields. internationally recognized for its line-up of leading artists, architects, writers, scientists, and disruptive minds from all over the world, E.A.T. has invited so far more than 140 speakers that have presented their ideas and visions on challenging social relevant themes since its inception in 2010. E.A.T. was founded by cristina bechtler together with hans ulrich obrist.

 

 

 

project info:

 

 

name: breathe with me

artist: jeppe hein