Welcome to the world of Housegymnastics
It was originally conceived as a bit of fun between flatmates too lazy to fetch a ladder. Then the lazy flatmates developed it into a series of performance art poses to do around their house. Now, having been posted on the internet and dubbed HOUSEGYMNASTICS it's growing into an international fitness craze amongst men and women of all ages, appeared on National TV and could be made into a video game!
Photographer Spencer Harrison and artist James Ford, both from Nottingham, found themselves wrestling with the debilitating effects of boredom while trying to find the motivation to erect a blind in their shared house. So they elected to adopt an alternative approach to gaining the height they required to reach the top of the window frame.
"We just couldn't be bothered bringing the ladder upstairs to the window." explains Spencer "We kind of started wedging our way up the window frame. Using our feet and our backs for leverage we managed to fit the blind. Then we realised we could just stay up there!
"That was it, we were off round the house squeezing into spaces and suspending ourselves from cupboards. Our flatmates thought we'd gone mad.
"We both hate the whole 'fitness video' thing" adds James "and while discussing what we had done we struck on the idea of developing it as a piece of art, a kind of comment on societies obsession with fitness and workouts."
And so was born the series of over twenty positions or 'moves' designed to utilise the cubby holes and corners of houses and offices. Drawing on Yogic styles, positions such as The xXx, the Ceiling Stand and the Jumping Jack Wedge are now being attempted from as far afield as Texas and Melbourne.
The internet seemed the natural platform upon which to exhibit their work, so James set about designing and building HOUSEGYMNASTICS.COM. Little did they imagine quite how popular their website and its contents would become.
"Very quickly after the site was erected we started getting emails from all over the world." enthuses Spencer "People were asking us for advice and help doing the moves, emailing us pictures of themselves, doing what they'd seen us doing on the site, in their homes and places of work. One guy in the states sent us a picture of his two year old doing a move!
As word about the craze has spread, fashion magazines and TV companies are falling over themselves to get access to the unlikely heroes, with a live appearance on BBC Breakfast TV taking place this week to coincide with an article in the prestigious art magazine DAZED AND CONFUSED. On top of that the boys have been approached by book publishers and a major video game manufacturer all keen to get a slice of the action.
The boys take seriously the performance art aspect of HOUSEGYMNASTICS, they enjoy the concept that the participant takes the form of an exhibit within the unlikely setting of their own home, "blurring the distinction between artist and viewer and commenting on the nature of authorship", says James.
"The strange thing is," he continues "People are getting into it as a fitness programme, which it really was never meant to be. We mention fitness benefits on the site but we thought people would see the irony in that and just laugh. I'm just waiting for someone to ask me if we can produce a fitness video! That would be funny"
It was originally conceived as a bit of fun between flatmates too lazy to fetch a ladder. Then the lazy flatmates developed it into a series of performance art poses to do around their house. Now, having been posted on the internet and dubbed HOUSEGYMNASTICS it's growing into an international fitness craze amongst men and women of all ages, appeared on National TV and could be made into a video game!
Photographer Spencer Harrison and artist James Ford, both from Nottingham, found themselves wrestling with the debilitating effects of boredom while trying to find the motivation to erect a blind in their shared house. So they elected to adopt an alternative approach to gaining the height they required to reach the top of the window frame.
"We just couldn't be bothered bringing the ladder upstairs to the window." explains Spencer "We kind of started wedging our way up the window frame. Using our feet and our backs for leverage we managed to fit the blind. Then we realised we could just stay up there!
"That was it, we were off round the house squeezing into spaces and suspending ourselves from cupboards. Our flatmates thought we'd gone mad.
"We both hate the whole 'fitness video' thing" adds James "and while discussing what we had done we struck on the idea of developing it as a piece of art, a kind of comment on societies obsession with fitness and workouts."
And so was born the series of over twenty positions or 'moves' designed to utilise the cubby holes and corners of houses and offices. Drawing on Yogic styles, positions such as The xXx, the Ceiling Stand and the Jumping Jack Wedge are now being attempted from as far afield as Texas and Melbourne.
The internet seemed the natural platform upon which to exhibit their work, so James set about designing and building HOUSEGYMNASTICS.COM. Little did they imagine quite how popular their website and its contents would become.
"Very quickly after the site was erected we started getting emails from all over the world." enthuses Spencer "People were asking us for advice and help doing the moves, emailing us pictures of themselves, doing what they'd seen us doing on the site, in their homes and places of work. One guy in the states sent us a picture of his two year old doing a move!
As word about the craze has spread, fashion magazines and TV companies are falling over themselves to get access to the unlikely heroes, with a live appearance on BBC Breakfast TV taking place this week to coincide with an article in the prestigious art magazine DAZED AND CONFUSED. On top of that the boys have been approached by book publishers and a major video game manufacturer all keen to get a slice of the action.
The boys take seriously the performance art aspect of HOUSEGYMNASTICS, they enjoy the concept that the participant takes the form of an exhibit within the unlikely setting of their own home, "blurring the distinction between artist and viewer and commenting on the nature of authorship", says James.
"The strange thing is," he continues "People are getting into it as a fitness programme, which it really was never meant to be. We mention fitness benefits on the site but we thought people would see the irony in that and just laugh. I'm just waiting for someone to ask me if we can produce a fitness video! That would be funny"
(John Wright, Sydney Sunday Telegraph, April 2003)
Selected reviews and interviews:
LeftLion You Are Here Visual Arts ICE Magazine BBC News Online Leeds Guide Sydney Sunday Telegraph Tablet Newspaper Nottingham Evening Post Folha de S.Paulo Newspaper Dazed&Confused City Lights
LeftLion You Are Here Visual Arts ICE Magazine BBC News Online Leeds Guide Sydney Sunday Telegraph Tablet Newspaper Nottingham Evening Post Folha de S.Paulo Newspaper Dazed&Confused City Lights
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