The title is based on The Dutch Proverbs (1559), a painting by Pieter Breughel the Elder. In the context of that painting, It’s Healthy to Piss Out the Fire indicates that it is wise to avoid blind ambition. This approach of using proverbs to inspire new designs was later used on a bigger scale to develop The Allegory of the South.

Apart from the metaphorical element, the title obliquely reveals the essential ingredient and the process that produced the beautiful green patina. Yes, you guessed right.

We experimented al lot with the technique of electrolyzing the material. We tried oxidizing a lot of different metals to get to the point of the chandelier. We found that a cast brass piece in combination with the technique of electrolyzing gave the best result. Once we finished our material research it was time to piss out the fire. We collected piss from everybody in our studio until we had enough to oxidize the chandelier. Everybody drank a lot of red wine before they donated their pee so the liquid had the right acidity to it. We build a custom swimming pool around the object, poured some piss in, and then the magic happened.

The ‘it’s healthy to piss out the fire chandelier’ became one of the centrepieces of our Allegory of the South show that was held during the annual Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.