2014
Throw a stone into the pond
I love the idea of throwing a stone into the pond, of causing a stir and above all of allowing others to do it easily. In our contemporary era where disruption is my trademark, I have designed a mechanism specially intended for this purpose. With a simple click, I create a wave, I disrupt the established order. Faced with the scale that this work has taken, I have become the person who, literally, throws stones into the pond. Faced with massive demand, I had to outsource this task. I now send the paving stones by post to collaborators scattered across France, and even as far as New York in the United States.Arsen Eca
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In a satirical exploration of today’s culture of instant gratification, Arsen Eca transformed the idiom “throw a stone in the pond” into a tangible act of protest and art installation. The artwork allows the audience to literally cause a ripple effect with the click of a button, defying the common online phenomenon of “click to get something easily”
In Eca’s installation, when a participant clicks the button, the artist himself throws a real cobblestone into a pond, metaphorically creating waves of disruption and discontent, echoing the often invisible consequences of our online actions. His work is a powerful commentary on the repercussions of our digital actions and the often thoughtless consumption and quick fixes that have become the norm in our digital age.
Going beyond the limits of its own capabilities, Eca further subverts the system by outsourcing this task. When he is unable to meet the demand for rebellion, he sends Parisian paving stones to operators in France and the United States, who then perform the act of stone throwing on his behalf. This creates a physical network of agitation, interconnecting people across borders through an act of subversion, and making them participate in this intriguing work of art.
By making the public an integral part of his work, Eca questions the ease with which we can trigger change, disturb the peace and create conflict, all with the click of a button. His innovative approach highlights how our digital actions have real-world effects, further amplifying his position as a master of systemic subversion.
