The artist turned cartwheels on the Pont des Arts in Paris on 4 April 1998 in celebration of his 35th birthday.
The performance was carefully planned in advance; the artist practised cartwheeling for several months in his studio with varied success.
Cartwheel Pont des Arts Paris
was the artist's first work conceived expressly for public space. It was photographed for posterity by the artist's friend, Russian concert pianist Yekaterina Lebedeva, using a 35mm b&w disposable camera.
According to the artist, 'It struck me that 35 was half way towards the biblical three-score-and ten and a cartwheel seemed an appropriately pivotal action for an artist to perform in the equally appropriate public space of the Pont des Arts.'
