First Aid storage room Implements (detail)

Erste Hilfe (First Aid)

A room in Kunstverein, Hannover converted to a first aid station
1995
Hannover, Germany

“Sometimes, you ask for help, but actually, what you are given is art.”  Iris Häeussler

Häeussler’s “First Aid” was installed in an existing second floor storage room used to hold crates and boxes of artworks to be exhibited in the Kunstverein Hannover, Arts Association. The artist transformed the functioning storage room, approximately 14 square meters, into a functioning first aid station by incorporating a bed, a washtub, a first aid cabinet, bottles of mineral water, wool blankets, and clean towels. The crates and boxes that were already in the room were also marked with stickers showing the iconic first aid symbol, a red cross on a white background. During a solo exhibition of work by Angela Grauerholz, First Aid was declared open and ready to be used by the public–in case of medical emergencies.