Foam events are again in a enjoyable San Francisco artwork efficiency

Keep in mind foam events, that cultural phenomenon inexplicably in style within the Nineties that had individuals dancing in a room of foamy bubbles? Effectively, foam events are again, and this time they’re Artwork.

On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays till Feb. 8, the Minnesota Avenue Mission Basis and the re.riddle gallery in San Francisco are holding performances of artist Michail Michailov’s “Self-Brainwashing.” The primary time this piece was staged was on the Bulgarian Pavilion within the 2022 Venice Biennale – Michailov was born in Bulgaria – and the idea in 2025 is principally the identical: Stick individuals in a confined house, fill it till brimming with foam and see what hilarity ensues.

Effectively, after all it’s deeper than that. These aren’t revelry-style foam events that the membership scene as soon as embraced, however a extra meditative expertise pushed by experimental music and the artist himself strolling across the perimeter, directing foam onto individuals in rising heights with what seems like a leaf blower. The efficiency, you see, is a metaphor in 2025 for the horrible quantities of misinformation that’s constructing round us.

“’Self-Brainwashing’ emerges at a crucial moment in our cultural dialogue about reality and perception,” write the present’s organizers. “In an era where multiple realities–augmented, virtual, and artificial–increasingly intersect with and sometimes overshadow our physical world, Michailov’s work purposefully employs obscurity as a powerful artistic tool.”

There are two methods to take pleasure in this efficiency: as observers, or as members who swim within the foam whereas sporting white protecting fits. Proper now all the participant tickets are offered out, nonetheless, so plan on being an observer. That’s not a nasty factor, as you’ll have the ability to see what’s taking place, and never blindly flailing — in a enjoyable manner — in foam.

Michail Michailov’s “Self-Brainwashing” is an artwork efficiency that covers individuals in mounds of froth, co-presented in 2025 by Minnesota Avenue Mission Basis and re.riddle. (Nordlys Pictures) 

Particulars: Doorways open 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays with performances at 6:30 p.m., and a pair of p.m. Saturdays with performances at 3:30 p.m., at 1201 Minnesota St., San Francisco; $10 tickets accessible on-line, minnesotastreetproject.org

Initially Printed: January 28, 2025 at 7:30 AM PST