Team: DDTlab, Dunking Devils, HSE, Arctur, and Iztok Kovač

Climb to the highest point of our past to see the future!

"When we were thinking about how to present Trbovlje within the given theme of the festival, we wanted to connect our past with the future. When Trbovlje tries to transcend the past and grow into the future, the monumental chimney, the tallest in Europe, in connection with art, science, and technology, which we are dealing with in DDT, is certainly a springboard. We ascend to the highest point of the past to look to the future. It triggers a bit of fear, excitement, and also anticipation. In terms of content, the project is inspired by the dance project of the same name by dancer and choreographer Iztok Kovač, who danced on top of a 360m high chimney in 1996, which can be seen in a beautiful film scene in the film of the same name Vrtoglavi ptič/Vertigo Bird. We were looking for a team to work with, and the Dunking Devils were the only ones crazy enough and trained enough to tackle this for the project. As a result, an exceptional project was created." (Maša Jazbec, Head of the Research Arts and Culture Laboratory at DDTlab in Trbovlje).

As part of the RUK Network of Research Centers project, under the auspices of which DDTlab was created, the Vertigo Bird project was presented at Ars Electronica in 2020. Vertigo Bird 2020 was filmed by DDTlab in collaboration with the acrobatic group Duking Devils and using the latest 360-degree video technique. The ascent to the ultimate symbol of the industrial past of Zasavje is, on a symbolic level, a journey towards the future, symbolized by a seemingly limitless view from the top of the chimney. We thank HSE Trbovlje for their cooperation and permission to climb the chimney.

Applicability:
• an innovative way of documenting climbing the highest chimney in Europe,
• an innovative way of archiving industrial heritage,
• Possibility of experience climbing on the chimney also for disabled people.