I remember watching the documentary Grizzly Man many years ago and thinking that the late Timothy Treadwell was pretty whacky, for choosing to live with grizzly bears. But Abraham Poincheval is taking that whackiness to a whole nother level. He's not living with a grizzly bear... he's living INSIDE of a grizzly bear.
Odditity Central reports that Poincheval, a French performance artist, is known for cramming himself into tight spaces for extended periods of time, and he recently spent an entire week in a small hole underneath a bookstore. This past Tuesday, Poincheval began his most unusual living art exhibit to date, converting the inside of a real-life grizzly bear into a small apartment, where he will remain through April 13th.
Poincheval excavated the bear himself and reconstructed it with plywood, plaster, foam and tubes, covering the makeshift home with the animal's actual skin and fur. Inside are reading materials, exercise bands and various bear-friendly foods - such as insects and worms - and Poincheval plans on spending the entire 13 days inside the bear, not even coming out to stretch or relieve himself. Where does his waste go, you ask? Well, tubes have been outfitted in the bear's legs; one to collect waste, the other to store enough water to keep the artist hydrated.
The exhibit is aptly titled 'Inside the Skin of a Bear,' and Poincheval says he's doing it in an effort to experience the animal's perception of the world. Well, alright then.
Head over to Abraham Poincheval's website to watch a live stream of this most unusual event, which is taking place at Paris' Hunting and Wildlife Museum.