Buying Your Breath for 1 Yuan, Selling Someone’s Breath for 1 Yuan

2008 Performance

In Chengdu, China Niwa announced to audience members and passersby that he would buy their breath for 1 yuan, and collected the contents of their lungs in a plastic bag. Then those who wished could also purchase them for 1 yuan. As the purchase and sale of breath are the same it is made clear that no profit is made in this transaction and in so doing Niwa performs the pure role of arbitrator actively attempting to induce the audience in a performance which naturally led to various events. For example when a pretty girl sold her breath this automatically led to the scene of an auction. Then when at the end Niwa himself sold his breath there was a rush of students wishing to buy from him.

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