Description of action: I am standing on an elevation, holding in my hands a 2,40 x 3,60 metre white flag with the black inscription “I”. I am holding the flag until it starts to become heavier and heavier. I am not putting the flag down, but I am trying to hold it up with all my force. I am stemming against the ever decreasing angle of the flag, noticing my force failing. I can no longer hold the flag, it is gliding from my hands and falls on the floor. I am leaving the elevation. (BBB Johannes Deimling, 2001)

The young man wears a dark suit and a tie when mounting the pulpit of the Zion-church with a three metre long arm-thick wooden stick. Without saying a single word BBB Johannes Deimling slowly unrolls an oversized flag. It is white like innocence, in the centre appears a black beam, revealing itself as a huge “I” within a few minutes. The Berliner holds the unrolled flag fast in his hands. But soon the strain is visible in his face. The performance-artist is determined to hold up his “I” as long as he possibly can. He is breathing heavily and sweats, in the end his whole body seems clenched. The cramp lasts twenty minutes, then the 32-year old collapses, the flag glides from his hands and falls to the floor. (FAZ, by Andreas Hergeth, 2001)

Some attempt an effort of will and climb Mount Everest. Others dedicate themselves to extreme sports like bungee jumping. Berlin artist BBB Johannes Deimling holds a white flag with the inscription “I” in his hands until his arms become heavier and heavier and finally his strenght fails him: the bar slides off his hands and falls to the floor. The performance is called “Will” and has the character of an “acted image”. Until reaching the total exhaustion of the artist, the performance normally only lasts 20 minutes. (kunstforum Bd. 162, 2002)

Tahe Ma seisan kõrgel postamendil, hoides käes a 2,40 x 3,60 meetrist valget lipppu, millel on  must kiri “MINA”. Ma hoian lippu kuni see muutb üha raskemaks. Ma ei langeta lippu, vaid püüan seda kogu oma jõuga üleval hoida. Ma  nõjatun vastu üha langevat lipuvart, täheldades et mu jõud ütleb üles. Ma ei suuda enam lippu hoida, see libiseb mul käest ja kukub põrandale. Ma lahkun postamendilt. (Übersetzung M. Hint, 2004)

Photos: Villu Plink, Roland P. Runge, Władysław Kazmierczak