The Final Countdown

The title

The title "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN" perfectly reflects the current situation: a vaccination that everyone has been waiting (and counting down) for more than a year now. But while vaccination procedures are starting worldwide, one question remains: When will we all be vaccinated? Even if the number of vaccinated individuals does not rise exponentially, it is gradually increasing, day by day, syringe by syringe. Hence, we count down the months, weeks and days which separate us from the end of the current pandemic. This is a global countdown, the one that, once completed, will signify a new beginning, a renewal, a comeback thanks to which smiles will be visible again and where people can reunite, kiss and hug.

These words mirror both the current Covid-situation and the post-vaccination period.
Furthermore, once the vaccination is completed, we could ask ourselves the same question as the one that the group Europe asked itself three decades ago: will things ever be the same again? Only at the end of the countdown can this question be answered.

Presentation

Dimensions and materials

The installation represents a standard syringe usually used for Covid19 vaccination, which is enlarged 150 times and then placed vertically with the needle pointing to the ground (cf. picture and plans).
The total height is 20.5m and the diameter of the cylinder measures 2.5m.
The height of the needle is 5.5m.
The piston is lowered 2/3 into/inside the cylinder.
The estimated weight is 2.5-3.0 tons for the medium model (M).

The syringe is made of steel, colored aluminum and Plexiglas.
The upper part of the cylinder is fixed with 3 or 4 cable tensioners made of steel.
With these cables the syringe is attached/anchored to the floor on concrete blocks.
However, the stability still has to be calculated, the structure is yet to be drawn, and the thickness and quality of the materials have to be defined once the project is officially launched.

In terms of size, we propose 3 different models: size L (large) - M (medium) - S (small).

Below are the non-detailed plans of two variants:

n°1 – Model L (large) +/- 20,5 m

n°2 – Model M (medium) 10,8m

Mock-up of Model L

Mock-up of Model M

The cylinder

Lower part: As for the finishing, the plexiglass tube is transparent on the lower part (which covers 1/3 of the cylinder, see plan). It is in this lower part that an "active" element (e.g. lights, objects, etc...) is envisaged in order to create an interaction between the public, the environment and the statue (See “3. The Artistic Message”).

Upper part: The upper part of the plexiglass tube (covering 2/3 of the cylinder, cf. plan) can be either translucent or opaque. This decision will depend on several structural and artistic criteria as this is merely a preliminary project.

Methods and options for manufacturing the Plexiglas cylinder
Manufacturing the entire Plexiglas tube, i.e. in one single piece with a diameter of 2500mm, is not easy, nor cost effective. Consequently, two methods are proposed:

• For Model S (size: S small) with a diameter of 1000 - 1200 mm, manufacturing the Plexiglas tube in one piece is feasible.
• For Models L (size: large) and M (size: medium), the Plexiglas tube will consist of three pieces (or plates) with a width of 3900 mm and a height of 2000 mm. In total we will manufacture five cylinders up to 10000 mm high. Then, the different Plexiglas cylinders will be assembled vertically (on one another) with metal profiles. These will represent the measurements usually visible on ordinary syringes to indicate the quantities of liquids contained inside the syringe.

The artistic message

The year 2020 has been marked by the emergence of a pandemic affecting more than 7.7 billion people. The Covid19 then took its first steps in our lives and as a result, daily routines changed drastically, thus altering the freedoms and liberties of each individual. Every citizen is hugely affected: social and interactive relationships are disrupted, travels are banned, social distance is imposed and smiles are no longer visible.
On the other hand, the year 2021 is characterized by the emergence of a new vaccine that could save these 7.7 billion human beings. Thanks to the efforts and accomplishments of the scientific world the promise of a return to normalcy through the vaccine finally seems possible.

1. Like the obelisks built by our ancestors after each victory, the giant syringe symbolizes this human effort to eradicate an (invisible) enemy.

2. The syringe, like the lighthouse that serves as a shelter to and provides protection for sailors, will reassure every lost and abandoned citizen by proving the latter that the solution is there and that a protected place is ensured to them.

3. This work will also represent the lost souls, those who perished due to the virus.
In order to best symbolize these human losses and the souls fallen during their fight against Covid19, the lower part of the syringe (1/3 of the cylinder), will be filled with white and colored feathers. Ideally, the feathers will float inside the syringe thanks to an artificial air current, thus giving it a magical effect and a peaceful sentiment.

4. Alternative: The facility can also be used as a carrier of information on the situation and the current stage of vaccination, as well as the exact number/percentage of vaccinated people.

Alternative 1:
Inside the lower part of the cylinder (1/3 of the cylinder), by means of a lightning effect, the population can be informed, day by day, about the current status of vaccination. The idea is to reproduce the measurements usually visible on an ordinary syringe (i.e. the small horizontal lines showing the exact liquid content of the syringe). These lines (measurements) on the monument will be representative of the number of citizens vaccinated on a day-by-day basis. Dynamically and through spirals or rings, a LED-system will show the progression of the number of people vaccinated: with each increase in the percentage of vaccinated individuals, a horizontal line of LED-light will light up until the goal is reached (like a countdown timer). To date, it would be equal to 4-5% which means that 4-5 “Led-light lines” will light up. This LED effect can be updated progressively and in real time thanks to a wireless system (WIFI) online.

Alternative 2:
A second option would be to move the plunger of the syringe, i.e. the plunger would be gradually lowered according to the progress of the vaccination. Note, however, that this possibility, although very attractive and technically possible, will be more expensive.

Duration

This is an ephemeral installation: as soon as the virus has been eradicated and there is no longer any reason to talk about a pandemic, the facility must be dismantled. However, it is still perfectly possible to move the work and keep it in another place (museum, the sponsor's headquarters, etc...).

Location

The location of the installation is crucial. The geographical area must indeed meet certain criteria:

• A large enough place to ensure the greatest visibility
• An animated place through which many people pass and transit
• The location must be symbolically important, in other words a place where an interaction (or a link) exists between the statue and the environment.

Budapest
For Budapest, a first idea was to place the installation in front of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The place is symbolic as it connects to the scientific world and is at the same time a tourist area next to the Danube: the place is therefore attractive and very animated.

Brussels
In Brussels an interesting location, and one that symbolically connects to culture, would be to place the giant syringe in front of La Monnaie and De Brouckere place a very busy place in the city center that, furthermore, is big and touristy enough to house such a work.

Alternative

The artist Laszlo de Somogyi also wanted to envisage The Final Countdown differently, by focusing on the doubts surrounding the various vaccines offered by different pharmaceutical companies: Which one should we choose? Are some vaccines better than others? Which brand of vaccine is economically more advantageous? ...

In a more artistic way, de Somogyi proposes a project less oriented towards politics (of vaccination), but rather directed towards the arts. Following this perspective, the goal is to place the installation in a politically neutral place, such as a museum (Cf. photos). Indeed, such a place perfectly reflects the artist's intention to avoid promoting a specific vaccine. Instead, for him it is more a question of transforming this hazardous and uncertain period into an artistic project which makes us rethink the situation and informs us about the different possible vaccines, or the vaccination more generally.

An ideal place would be, for example, to install the project in front of the Mücsarnok in Budapest. The front of the building has 6 columns. In front of these 6 columns there are 6 syringes which respectively symbolize the 6 known vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech - Moderna - AstraZeneca - Sputnik - Sinopharm - Johnson & Johnson). All the syringes are the same in size, position, etc... so that all vaccines remain "equal" as the aim isn’t to promote one vaccine at the expense of the others.

Exhibition Hall Budapest

Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels

Theatre de Monnay

The artist

In early 2021, almost a year after the appearance of the first "European" Covid19-wave, the vaccination campaign began in Europe. This means a new beginning, one that is coupled with the eradication of the virus. However, the worldwide vaccination movement seems to divide the global population as pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine camps are being created.

By rethinking the current situation far from these heated debates, the artist Laszlo de Somogyi began to develop his project: that of a universal symbol embodying the triumph of human beings over an invisible enemy. The idea of a gigantic syringe naturally popped up as an obvious plan in that it represents both the culmination of all our efforts and the key to stop our common rival.

In this way, by taking a more distant and global approach, the artist points to the fact that a solution to this ordeal is finally conceivable. Whether one is for or against the vaccine, the latter exists and may be the only option for a return to normalcy.

Laszlo de Somogyi is a Belgian-Hungarian artist (painter) with a passion for current events and news issues from which he draws inspiration for his works. He has been juggling for several years between traditional art (painting, sculpture,…) and virtual and technological arts, two fields that, according to him, are inseparable and which push him to evolve in his artistic techniques and visions.

Active for nearly 30 years in the preservation and restoration of the Belgian heritage, Laszlo de Somogyi has been chosen to restore several renowned buildings in the capital of the European Union, such as the Palace of Justice in Brussels, the Museum of Fine Arts Brussels, or the Royal Palace of Laeken