Artist feels ‘groggy’ after a week sealed in a rock

An artist who volunteered to be sealed inside a block of stone for a week to “experience the mineral universe” and the “flow, the come-and-go between myself and the stone”, emerged and said he felt ‘a bit groggy’.

Abraham Poincheval, 44, shaped a man-sized space between two six-tonne rocks at the Palais de Tokyo modern art museum in Paris.

There was only room for his body, a ‘hermetically-sealed’ toilet and some ventilation as well as water, fruit compote and mashed potato slotted into small crannies.

After being helped out of his temporary ‘sarcophagus’ by medics, he thanked the rock “for having welcome me so enthusiastically”.

Looking visibly weakened, he added that he had experienced “some strong moments of dizziness, when you lose yourself completely and don’t know where you are”.

During his ‘installation’ week, he was able to talk to inquisitive visitors to the museum through the join in the two halves of the rock - with one visitor playing a guitar to him for company.

He now needs to recover before his next stunt – on March 29 he next plans to sit on a dozen eggs, keeping them at the right temperature, 37C, for hatching.