Installation and Performance of Single-Purpose Gear
NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, February 10 – May 22, 2022
Curated by Alain Bieber and Judith Winterhager

Medium: Functional textile, webbing, straps, hangers, felt, polyurethane, a hand-bound edition, cord, hand-embossed hangtags
Size: Variable

The installation brings together the works Krabbel-Anzüge (Crawling Suits, 2019), Brust-Sack (Chest Pouch, 2019), and Bet-Handschuhe (Prayer Mittens, 2020). Presented within the exhibition Subversive Design, the works operate at the intersection of design, performance, and sculptural practice, addressing the body as a site of regulation, adaptation, and constraint.

At the center of the installation is the interactive work Crawling Suits, developed in collaboration with artist Hagen Keller. The project consists of two custom-made full-body suits, conceived specifically for the bodies of the two artists. Produced from functional textiles by Schoeller, the suits combine durability, weather resistance, breathability, and thermal insulation.

The garments are designed for a single, precise mode of movement: crawling. While certain elements restrict mobility, integrated stretch zones allow for controlled flexibility. The suits only assume their intended form when the body is positioned close to the ground. Mittens integrated into the design force the hands into a clenched position, supported by felt padding on the backs of the hands. Additional sole elements are attached after the suit is worn, extending from the knees to the toes and fixing the legs in a way that makes upright walking impossible.

Funktions-Bekleidung (Single-Purpose Gear) translates the logic of outdoor and protective gear into a performative apparatus. Comparable to how a snowsuit mediates contact with snow, the Crawling Suit enables prolonged proximity to the ground. Through material choice and construction, the suits allow the performers to remain in a crawling position for extended periods of time.

By exaggerating the logic of functional clothing, the work reveals its latent mechanisms of control and bodily regulation.

in easy words

Single-Purpose Gear is the name of a group of artworks.
Single-purpose gear means: clothes that can do only one thing.
The works were shown at the NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf.
From February to May 2022.
The exhibition was called: Subversive Design.
Alain Bieber and Judith Winterhager curated it.
Curating means: planning and organizing an exhibition.

Three works were shown together:

• the Crawling Suits (German: Krabbel-Anzüge)
• the Chest Pouch (German: Brust-Sack)
• the Prayer Mittens (German: Bet-Handschuhe)

The most important work is the Crawling Suits.
I made this work together with the artist Hagen Keller.
There are two suits.
Each suit was made exactly for one body:
one for me and one for Hagen Keller.
The fabric comes from the company Schoeller.
It is real outdoor fabric.
It is strong and warm.
It protects against wind and rain.

The suits are made for only one movement: crawling.
The suit only fits right when you are close to the ground.
The mittens of the suit hold the hands in a fist.
Soft felt protects the backs of the hands.
Extra pads are put on last.
They go from the knees to the toes.
With these pads, you cannot walk upright anymore.
Some parts of the suit can stretch.
So crawling is possible for a long time.

Why did we make this work?
Outdoor clothes normally help us.
For example: a snowsuit protects us in the snow.
The Crawling Suit works the same way.
It helps you to crawl for a long time.
But crawling is a strange goal for clothes.
The work takes the idea of functional clothes very far.
So you can see:
Clothes do not only protect our bodies.
Clothes also tell our bodies what to do.

Installation and performance within Krabbel-Anzüge (Crawling Suits)
Selected by Konrad Fischer, curated by Janine Blöß and Frauke Weyrather

Presented on the top floor of McKinsey & Company, the Crawling Suits entered a space built for corporate performance, strategic thinking, and optimized productivity. In this context, the suit acts like a functional garment that has been mis-cast: its soles extend from the knees to the instep, making upright walking impossible and anchoring the body in a crawling posture.

The suit is engineered for crawling. It is wind- and waterproof, dirt-repellent and weather-resistant, breathable and insulating. Stretch inserts allow flexibility in specific positions, while integrated gloves keep the hands locked into a fist. The soles extend from the knees to the instep, preventing upright walking and forcing a return to the ground.

The sacrifice of ordinary movement is compensated by a shift in perception: lowered eye level, slowed rhythm, heightened tactility. Crawling becomes a prolonged state—mechanical and animal-like, yet strangely intimate. The work uses the language of functional clothing to reveal its own contradiction: optimization as a form of constraint.

in easy words

This was an installation and a performance.
It happened with the artwork Crawling Suits.
The German name is: Krabbel-Anzüge.
Konrad Fischer selected the work.
Janine Blöß and Frauke Weyrather curated it.
Curating means: planning and organizing an exhibition.

The performance took place in a special building:
the offices of the company McKinsey.
It was on the top floor.
McKinsey is a company for business advice.
In this building, everything is about work.
Everything must be fast, smart and perfect.

Into this place came the Crawling Suits.
The suits look like outdoor clothes.
The fabric is strong.
It keeps out wind, water and dirt.
It is warm and lets air through.
Some parts can stretch.

But the suit has one special trick:
Hard soles go from the knees to the top of the feet.
With these soles you cannot stand up.
You can only crawl.
The gloves hold the hands in a fist.

Crawling changes many things.
Your eyes are close to the floor.
You move slowly.
You feel the ground with your whole body.
Crawling looks a little bit like a machine.
And a little bit like an animal.
And it feels strangely private.

So there is a funny picture:
In this building everything must be fast and perfect.
And in the middle of it: people crawling slowly on the floor.

The work shows a contradiction:
The suit is planned perfectly – for one goal.
But this perfect plan takes your freedom.
The work asks:
When everything gets optimized – what do we lose?

The first image features a collaboration with the artist Sebastian Jung as part of his project Museumexpress. This project developed a special presentation format during the Covid-19 pandemic that allowed viewers to experience artworks outside the museum—both in public spaces and privately at home.

Bet-Handschuh (Prayer Mitten) is a functional unit for comfortable praying – designed for “prayer-to-go.” It enables inner impulses to be directed at any deity or any object, anytime and anywhere: centering, focusing, meditating. Or doing penance.

The hand is read not only as a body part, but as an interface: the mitten orders the gesture, standardizes the posture, and makes spirituality portable. Sporty-futuristic design, guaranteed institution- and religion-independent. Available in every size.

• Easy to care for
• 80% windproof
• Breathable
• Water and dirt repellent
• Cut-resistant on the fingertips
• Practical handling thanks to the Velcro fastener

in easy words

The first picture shows a collaboration.
Collaboration means: artists work together.
I worked with the artist Sebastian Jung.
His project is called: Museumexpress.
The project started in the corona pandemic.
Museums were closed.
With Museumexpress people could still see art:
on the street or at home.

The picture shows my Prayer Mitten.
I sewed the mitten myself.
The mitten holds the hands in a praying position.
The mitten tells the hand what to do.
So praying always looks the same.

I present the mitten like a product from a shop.
This is part of the joke in this artwork.
The advertisement says:

The Prayer Mitten is perfect for praying everywhere.
Prayer-to-go!
You can pray to every god.
Or to every thing you like.
Anytime. Anywhere.
Good for: calming down, focusing, meditating.
Or for saying sorry.
Sporty and futuristic design.
Works with every religion.
Comes in every size.

The mitten can do a lot:

• It is easy to wash.
• It keeps out wind.
• It lets air through.
• It keeps out water and dirt.
• The fingertips are extra strong.
• It opens and closes with Velcro.

Why this joke?
Today almost everything is a product.
You can buy everything, fast and easy.
The artwork asks:
What happens when praying becomes a product too?

Image 1 Performance in the Crawling Suit
for the exhibition Subversive Design, 2022
Photo by Anne Orthen

Image 2 Installation view of functional clothing
for the exhibition Subversive Design, 2022

Image 3 Performance in the Crawling Suit
for the exhibition Subversive Design, 2022
Photos by Katja Illner

Image 4,6 Installation view Crawling Suits, 2020
Photos by Stephan Eichler

Image 5,7,8 Detail views Chest Pouch
and Crawling Suits, 2020
Photos by Liora Epstein

Image 9 Performance in the Crawling Suit for the exhibition Kunstakademie Düsseldorf @ McKinsey & Company#7, 2019
Photo by Andrea Marcellier

Image 10 Installation view Prayer Mitten, 2022
Photo by Sebastian Jung (© Museum Express)

Image 11 Installation view Prayer Mitten
for the exhibition Subversive Design, 2022
Photo by Liora Epstein

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn