A Spanish Artist Sued Himself For the Right to Install Scaffolding

This is one of those Times People Inexplicably Sued Themselves. A rare individual, Santiago Cirugeda, creates work that blurs the distinctions between architecture, performance, and visual art. In the 1990s, he started working on street architectural projects. One of these projects involved borrowing dumpsters, which he then used as platforms for playground construction when the city would only grant dumpster licenses but would not issue building permits for things like swing sets.

Later he thought of a revolutionary plan to increase the room in a house by adding onto it in a similar way. Graffiti was used to deface a home as part of his Scaffolding project. Then, presumably, to help in the eradication of that graffiti, he filed a lawsuit against himself to gain the right to erect scaffolding on the same structure. For a number of months, a room addition where people could reside was made out of the scaffolding that was linked to the structure.

Nationality: Spain

Occupation: Artist