Experience: I got stuck hanging naked from a tree | Life and s...

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Experience: I got stuck hanging naked from

a tree
I became worried that the circulation in my right ankle, which was raised awkwardly
at head height, was being cut off by the tightening knot and I might even end up
losing my foot
Hilde Krohn Huse
Friday 21 August 2015 17.15BST

I hadnt planned to be naked in the woods for more than a minute or two. One year on
from completing my masters degree in ne art, I organised an Easter residency in my
native Norway with four other artists. We were staying in the house my father grew
up in, on a sparsely populated island, and one afternoon I went out with my video
camera and tripod, having briey outlined what I planned to do.
Most of my work involves lm and performance, and the piece I was making required
a eeting shot of me hanging unclothed from a branch. I tied some safety knots in a
length of rope. I tied the rope over a bough about 8ft up, got undressed, and pressed
record.
The resulting lm starts with me approaching the tree, placing my left foot into one of
the loops, then swinging my right foot right up through another loop hanging a
couple of feet beneath the branch. Then I lean back until Im hanging upside-down,
my head and shoulders resting on the grass. I hold this pose for about half a minute.
Those seconds of stillness were all I needed for my lm, yet as the camera captured
them I felt the rope tighten around my ankle and knew Id made a terrible mistake.
My rst thought was, OK, youve fucked up, Hilde, but lets try to get you out of this
so nobody needs to know. I hauled myself up, hand over hand, until I was swinging
horizontally, just below the branch, and tried to yank my foot free.
It was hopeless. Righting myself, I put my free foot back on the ground to rest for a
moment, then tried again, pulling myself up and ghting, puppet-like, against my
bonds. My left foot, taking my weight in the lowest noose, started to spasm and I
knew my strength wouldnt hold out. But my pride was still uppermost the idea of
having to draw the attention of others to my humiliating plight still seemed
unthinkable. I was losing strength, but full of adrenaline, my face dragging along the
woodland oor, leaving me spitting twigs.
Exhausted, battered and nally beaten, I accepted I was going to need help. I became
worried that the circulation in my right ankle, which was raised awkwardly at head

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height, was being cut o by the tightening knot and that I might even end up losing
my foot. My position meant it was hard to breathe, too. Nevertheless, I sucked in as
much oxygen as I could and, facing the direction of the house, yelled Adam!
I kept calling at intervals, every shout leaving me panting. To save breath I called for
the two friends with the shortest names Adam and Sarah. Eventually, I just settled
for Help! At least it was too early in the year for insects to start biting, and the island
was free of wolves and wildcats. Even so, I had no wish to be discovered by a stranger.
As my shouts grew increasingly broken I realised Id be happy to see anyone at all. But
there was no response just wind in the trees, birdsong and the drone of insects.
It was another half an hour before help arrived. I think my rescuer a friend from the
house was appalled. By then I was oblivious to my nakedness, but she struggled to
undo the knots while averting her eyes.
My friends were horried when I hobbled in, pale, bruised and with bark in my hair.
They had heard my shouts but initially passed them o as the cries of a distant
seagull. I went straight to bed, and when I woke I watched the lm. The camera had
cut out after 11 minutes, just after Id started calling for help. It was a lm without
resolution, ending at its most distressing point.
I watched it again with my friends and, seeing how their initial laughter gave way to
groans of dismay, I realised Id inadvertently created something powerful. My instinct
was borne out when the lm was selected, unchanged, for a nationwide touring art
exhibition. After that, interest snowballed. The lm went viral online my
grandmother was shocked to learn that half a million people saw me naked. But she
and my parents have since expressed delight that its helped my burgeoning art
career.

As told to Chris Broughton

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