An artist was lifted off the ground by 20,000 helium-filled party balloons in a colourful gravity-defying stunt.
In something that looked like a scene from the much loved Pixar film, Up, artist Noëmi Lakmaier was strapped to the huge bunch of balloons and floated for nine hours during a performance at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
The unusual act was part of the opera house’s Antidote festival and Lakmaier’s performance was called Cherophobia, which means the fear of happiness.
She told Australia’s ABC News: “We’re all supposed to want to be happy, aren’t we?
“Being frightened of what we want seems to push and pull, and leave us in a constant Catch-22, which sounds so uncomfortable, but in so many ways resonates with the fight between my body and the balloons.”
Lakmaier’s website described Cherophobia as “a visual, performative and experiential exploration of what it means to be human, rooted in the artist’s personal understanding of the world.”
The artist, who uses a wheelchair, told Culture24 last year that being suspended in the air and forcing herself to rely on the balloons to hold her up makes her face her fear of not being in control.
The artist originally performed the stunt in London last year where she managed to stay afloat for 48 hours.