Luminous objects from the series Prototypes for power theft; brush drawings and silk-screen prints on paper and plastic foil, conductive lacquers, phosphorescent pigments, laminated glass, electricity meter, 230 Volt connection, printed court decision of 1896, luminous elements each 44 x 45 cm
Installation
Prototypes for the electricity theft 1999
Installation view: Former adit of the Pliesberg coal mine; accessible for visitors via the Museum Industriekultur Osnabrück
The electricity needed to light the coloured areas is so low that a connected electricity meter cannot measure consumption. The pictures draw energy from the electricity grid, but due to their insignificance, this energy cannot be verified and therefore cannot be charged. The following court ruling regarding “electricity theft” was used as an expression for the installation: “Can electricity or electrical current be the object of theft or misappropriation?” St. G.B. §§ 242, 246, IV Criminal Senate. Judgement of 20 October 1896 g. W. Rep. 2609/96, Kiel Regional Court.