Damocles — Jens Tiemann

Damocles, 2024, Photo: Jens Tiemann

Damocles (2022) is a 36-hour performance.
A fragile threshold, an inevitable shift, an equilibrium held by time itself—Damocles captures the tension of a system on the verge of transition. At its core, a delicate balance governed by melting ice, gravity, and the weight of a 27-gram blade. What appears static is, in fact, already in motion.

There is no alarm, no visible countdown—only the quiet dissolution of structure. The process unfolds imperceptibly at first, until the moment of release. The ice, shaped by unseen forces, dictates the pace of change, its disappearance both predictable and uncontrollable. Damocles makes a condition tangible, suspending the viewer in a space where anticipation and inevitability converge.

PerformanceIce block, knife (27 g), nylon thread, helium latex balloon, support structure (120 cm× 120 cm, collects melting water)
SupportOrlando Helfer Rabaça
Nils Tiemann
Supervision UdKJussi Ängeslevä