Christian Boltanski’s No Man’s Land

Have you ever sat back and contemplated how much ‘stuff’ you use on a weekly, even daily basis? Do you consider clothing to be items of utility or a means to show others what type of person you are? These are a couple of the questions I imagine Christian Boltanski is trying to address with his work No Man’s Land. “This sprawling piece is centered around a 30-ton mass of clothes that is picked up and dropped — in an act of abject futility — by a massive, industrial crane. All around are tidy squares of used clothing, illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights. […] The dire industrial backdrop keeps things suitably grim.” There is a strong message of life and death here also.

Via: C-Monster

Here is a shot of the square layouts of clothing.

As you can see, 30 tons of clothing is an incredible amount of material, especially when you consider how much clothing compresses with weight on it.