Drift 2010 features walki paper boat

A material from Walki has found an end use of a rather unusual nature. As part of the art project Drift 2010, German artist Frank Bölter is creating boats from the material, called Walki-Pack Foil Plus, and in the beginning of November 2010 he embarked on his maiden voyage on the Thames in London.

Drift is a project led by the non-profit organisation Illuminate Productions, in which artists are given the opportunity to showcase their work in challenging and unexpected places where the general public can easily interact with the art. It is with this in mind that Frank Bölter has set up his paper boat folding operation in central London, where he is helped by passers-by who stop to lend him a hand. The boats are folded according to the same pattern as a paper hat, resulting in paper boats that are the size of an actual small-scale boat.

Frank Bölter has dubbed his project To The World’s End. And as the name suggests, his boats need to be durable – the boat used in his maiden voyage definitely proved to be up to the task. Bölter was towed behind a motorboat on his river journey, and the paper boat handled the waters with grace. But then again, the boat paper is coated with a material intended to protect sensitive products, primarily foods, against moisture, gas, grease and light. Drift 2010 will continue in London until January 2011.