Walter Joseph Steinarsson
19th May 2010, I Was There, Stedefreund gallery, Berlin
and 3rd march 2010, B-Sides, Goldsmiths, London
Performance with video projection
30 minutes duration

Description:
To trigger the performance, I defied the audience to explain Quantum Mechanics. The question firstly left the audience speechless, then people offered various explanations.
The performance continued as an homage to a non-existent, yet eminent key figure, Walter Joseph Steinarsson. I gave a speech to introduce him to the public:

"He was a physicist, a theorist, a literary critic, and the inventor of the IMLI (Instrument to Measure the Level of Idiocy) [...] scandalous for some...revolutionary for others..."

I offered one member of the audience the opportunity to try the IMLI device. He spotted several idiots in the crowd.
In honour of the great inventor's recent death, a two minutes silence was held. Then I invited the public to consume some beverages in this celebration, alongside the festivities throughout the rest of the evening.

The non-existence of Walter Joseph was not mentioned. As the speech takes on an absurd tone, people began interrogating the validity of what was being said. This piece is to question the system of belief.

A participant offers an explanation of Quantum Mechanics
(picture by JL Murtaugh)

I showed an excerpt from Maybe Logic, a documentary about Robert Anton Wilson. Here, a presenter challenges him to offer
a simple explanation of Quantum Mechanics: he refers to the fictional borderlines that separates the States of America.

A visitor tries to spot some idiots in the audience