vincent tanguy documents 5 days of 'modern survival' using delivery apps in shanghai

from june 1st to june 6th in 2019, vincent tanguy spent five days in an empty room in shanghai to create his performance art piece titled ‘the convenient life (version 1)’. using his smartphone as the main tool for survival, the multi-media artist ordered food and various other home comforts online via delivery apps, which he documented live.

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (inside)

all images courtesy of vincent tanguy

with just a smartphone and 500 yuans (60 euros) to hand, tanguy brings comfort to the empty space. by ordering goods online the items soon being to pile up. as part of his 5 day long experiment into ‘modern survival’, the artist recorded every single search and order placed using his smartphone. the resulting film, which you can see below, shows the incredible amount of resources available at our fingerprints. from coffee to toothpaste to translating a simple pleasantry into a foreign language, tanguy conveys the real meaning of ‘the convenient life’.

for ‘the convenient life (version 1)’, the artist recorded every search and order placed on his smartphone

video courtesy of vincent tanguy

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (inside)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (inside)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (dream bay’s entrance)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (dream bay’s river)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (dream bay’s house)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (first delivery)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (first delivery)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (first pillow)

vincent tanguy, the convenient life, version 1 (the window)

project info:

project name: the convenient life (version 1)

project type: performance art

artist: vincent tanguy

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom