French artist Abraham Poincheval took the saying “living under a rock” to a whole new level when he attempted to survive inside a boulder in the Paris art museum for one week straight. To explore the concept of time, Poincheval encased himself with two boulder halves that closed around his body shape. Equipped with nothing but water, soup, dried meat, storage for his own excrement, an emergency phone, and a slim crack to the outside world, he remained inside the rock for an entire week with the sole purpose of enhancing his artistic viewpoint.

This act made headlines everywhere, affecting people all over the world. “People seem to be very touched,” Poincheval expressed. “They come and talk in the crack, read poetry to me, or tell me their nightmares or their dreams.” However, he explained, “They are not so much talking to me, I think, as the stone. I am very happy that the stone has gotten into their heads.” When asked about his experiences inside the rock, Poincheval described it as “traveling in this rock without moving, like an astronaut,” and as “tripping.”

While inside the rock, however, Poincheval possessed a few worries of his own, including his lost concept of time. Rather than fearing the enclosed space, he feared his lack of sleep due to his inability to perceive the time of day. Because he was bathed in complete darkness, without the presence of a watch, it would be nearly impossible to judge what could be going on in the outside world. “I have some idea of time relative to the museum hours. I hear different sounds,” Poincheval explained. “But otherwise I have no sense of day and night.” When asked about his sleeping habits, he said “I can sleep but it is very hard. It is very strange. I don’t know whether I am sleeping or not.” While most people would feel very confined if they were only able to move their hands and feet a few inches, he claimed, “I do not feel oppressed by the rock. I feel completely at ease, in real connection with it.”

After spending an entire week in the confines of a rock, the artist described his emotional experiences, admitting that it had been a bit of a rollercoaster. “It’s very complex. You pass from one feeling to another. Like you are being carried away on a raft.” While this performance may seem bizarre and frightening to the majority, Poincheval is no stranger to it. He is constantly seeking out new and hair-raising experiences to enhance his artistic abilities, including living inside a bear, being buried for eight days, and navigating France’s Rhone River trapped inside a giant plastic corked bottle. After surviving the ordeal, Poincheval declares he will now attempt to become a human hen and hatch a dozen eggs by sitting on them for weeks on end.