THE FOURTH POLE

Dead Sea, 2016
video HD colour, sound
6.15 min in collaboration with Julia Wirsching

We went to the deepest point on Earth and declared it as The Fourth Pole, by installing a flag in one of the new sink holes there. The Fourth Pole – in contrast to the Third Pole, Mount Everest – is the lowest dry point on the Earth. Located in an area that was previously part of the shrinking Dead Sea, and covered with salt, it is a new white spot on the map. To claim this unexplored terrain we used an old and a new military instrument: an instrument traditionally used for territorial expansion (flag) as well as contemporary technology of surveillance and warfare (drone).

 

The Fourth Pole (excerpt)

The Fouth Pole Flag


One of the Fourth Pole Embassies around the Dead Sea (Art Cube Jerusalem)




The picture shows equipment to reach two opposite extremes on earth. The shoe on the right was worn during the first successful ascent to the highest point on earth. It was developed by SATRA Technology, 1953. With the help of this company, Julia Wirsching & Gabriel Hensche developed a shoe to descent the lowest dry point on earth.



Installation view: Im Burrow, Berlin 2017