Lungenflügel
- Artist: Pipilotti Rist
- Date: 2009
- Medium: Video, high definition, projection, colour and sound (surround)
- Dimensions: duration: 15min, 36sec
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Lungenflügel” by Pipilotti Rist. The work runs for 15 minutes 36 seconds across three screens, drawing you into a kaleidoscopic valley. In the center, the protagonist Pepperminta—red‑haired, largely naked—wanders on all fours, eating apples straight from the grass, her body magnified and multiplied. Beside her, a pig moves in sync, while apples, tulips and strawberries distort into gigantic, dream‑like shapes. As Pepperminta drifts through water, her menstrual blood merges with the sea, a vivid reminder of life’s creative pulse. There’s no spoken dialogue; the soundtrack—psychedelic loops from Anders Guggisberg and Roland Widmer—wraps the scenes in a swirling, almost trance‑inducing ambience. Rist layers saturated colours and special editing techniques to pull the viewer into a fantasy world that feels both noble and inviting. The installation invites you to lie down, letting the projection swallow you, turning the gallery into a communal, almost otherworldly experience.
See it in person
Lungenflügel is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
