“Hartung Study”: Living in oneself for seven days. A phenomenological and psychoanalytical exploration of a performance by Abraham Poincheval associated with a work by Hans Hartung

Aims: This article describes the setting up and the psychological analysis of a performance by the artist Abraham Poincheval in the framework of a collaboration with the Hartung-Bergman Foundation. Beyond the aesthetic dimension of the piece, the aim of this work was to study the physiological and psychological effects induced by sitting in an enclosed space over a long period of time. Method: Abraham Poincheval remained for a week in a sculpture molded to his dimensions, with a cone located at eye level that allowed him to see a painting by Hans Hartung. Physiological measurements (EEG, temperature), audio recordings, and microphenomenological interviews were used to study the effects of this performance. A psychoanalytical analysis was also carried out in order to better understand the creative process and the psychic processes at work in this performance. Results: The phenomenological analysis highlights the astonishing malleability of the psyche, which manages to cope with a very uncomfortable situation that nevertheless leads to dissociative states. The perception of space, time, and the body is transformed, as well as the perception of the work, which leads to phenomena of pareidolia, hallucinatory processes, and negative hallucinations. In a general way, the collapse of the duration of the paradoxical sleep seems to be associated with oniroid states that support the hallucinatory processes and experiences between dreaming and sleeping. Discussion: The sculpture could represent the setting up of a “Self-shell” in reaction to fragile psychic envelopes of the register of the first containers of thought. The sculpture can also be thought of as a cocoon that can induce psychic states that promote different forms of explorations and transformations of the subjective experience. This performance can also be considered an expression of unsymbolized psychic elements, which further emphasizes the constraining dimension of certain components of the work. The trauma clinic is finally approached in mirror of Hartung's work in echo of what the latter may have experienced during the Second World War. Conclusion: The fact of remaining seated, in a confined space, generates important transformations of the perception of space, time, and the body. This also leads to oniroid states that encourage the phenomena of pareidolia and hallucinatory processes. For all that, the psyche seems to be able to adapt to these extreme conditions, which demonstrates its astonishing capacities of adaptation.