German artist Hans Hemmert uses balloon sculptures to explore the idea of space and form, having the objects take the place of human figures and massive structures. Hemmert evolved from the human-sized, yellow works of the 1990s to a recent assemblage that takes the shape of an enormous tank.
“For War Child’s annual fund raising event, they needed to give people a reason why they should donate,” a collaborator of Hemmert’s said about the tank project. “To reinforce War Child’s mission statement ‘Keep the war out of children’ we installed a life size Sherman tank made out of balloons on the market place of Den Bosch, Holland. Reminding people that kids should stay kids, not soldiers.” After the balloons deflated, children were allowed to discard the materials left over.
