by Katrina Kuntz

London-based artist Mark McGowan set out the day after Christmas, crawling on his hands and knees in support of all of those who spent the holidays alone, reported Aljazeera.net. “Last Christmas I had two fish fingers, I was on my own. This Christmas I didn’t want to be on my own. I wanted to do something about it,” McGowan told onlookers who greeted him at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, 11 days and 60 miles later. McGowan arrived with 9 of the 18 boxes of chocolate he started the journey with dragging behind him, wearing a sign asking, “Could you love me?” and holding a rose between his teeth.

Fighting crowds of cynics, exposure to the elements, and extreme fatigue, McGowan admitted crawling through both city and countryside was an emotional and physical battle. “There have been lots of times when I wondered why I was doing it. … New Year’s Day was the worst day. … It was quite tearful,” he admitted.
McGowan’s next project will take place at HFBK Gallery in Hamburg, Germany, on January 23, 2006, where he will attempt to break the world hamburger-eating record. McGowan will have eight hours to eat 70 patties. “Apparently 21 is the normal advanced stomach threshold,” McGowan notes. To learn more about this artist and read a daily journal of his hands-and-knees journey, visit: http://clublet.com/c/c/house?page=MarkMcGowan .

FEBRUARY 2006