From the Series
Textile-based installation artist Elisabeth Buecher created a shower curtain, which she calls Spiky, that only gives you four minutes in the shower before turning into a wall of inflated spikes.
A medieval torture device in the Tim Burton film Sleepy Hollow inspired the spikes on the curtain. Buecher’s playful installation raises awareness on the environmental impact of using excess water in the shower by introducing a (gentle) form of punishment.
“I wanted to create this project because I do believe that it is very hard to do things that feel uncomfortable even if it is for our own good (saving water) and we need a little help to force us to do it. I see my curtains like alarm clocks: you don't want to get up in the morning but you have to and the alarm clock helps you to do it,” says Buecher.
A sensor is attached to the shower tap and after four minutes of running water the sensor triggers the inflation of the spikes via an air inflator.
Buecher adds that many people find her “design for pain” concept challenging, but that her green warrior shower has garnered a lot of excitement. At the moment it is an art installation and not a product, but she claims to be open to the idea of developing it into a commercial product.
