Inside the World of House Gymnastics

In a fit of inspiration, two young artists from London, England, 23-year-old James Ford and 29-year-old Spencer Harrison, have created a mixture of yoga, aerobics and gymnastics that anyone can perform utilizing the space and areas of their home. Inspired by the everyday minutiae of life at home, Ford and Harrison have developed a blend of art, calisthenics and yoga. Practitioners of their House Gymnastics movement use areas in their home to create a space to perform intricate moves. House Gymnastics subscribers - which numbers 200 and growing - can learn to scale the counter space between banisters or use their kitchen table as a platform to bend, contort and stretch. From banister balance to upper doorframe grab, House Gymnastics advocates use their surroundings in a unique and interesting way. The methods were developed by Ford and Harrison, as well as advocates from around the world including US, Finland, Italy, China and Mexico. Using their backgrounds in photography and filmmaking, Ford and Harrison have ventured out into the art world and documented their techniques in art gallery and in a forthcoming book.

Tablet: How did you come up with the idea?
James Ford: The idea came while we were attempting to put up a blind in my bedroom. The bed was in the way and we couldn't be bothered to get a ladder from the basement, so we attempted to put up the blind by climbing the window frame. It took all day but we finally did it. The next day we found ourselves climbing other things around the house and gave it a name.

Tablet: Does the size of your apartment matter in order to do HG?
JF: The beauty of house gym is that it can be performed anywhere. People sometimes complain about having "stair envy" because they live in a bungalow or a flat, but you don't need stairs to do house gym. It can be done in door ways, on tables, chairs, the floor, in the fridge, etc.

Tablet: On your Web site, you show house gymnastics utilizing stairwells and kitchens. What are the benefits and shortcomings of using your home as a space?
JF: The benefits of HG in the home is that you experience your domestic space in a new and exciting way, it doesn't cost anything, you don't have to travel to the gym, and its great fun when you have a house party. The shortcomings are that your housemates probably think you're a bit mental in the head, and you constantly need to clean or paint the walls to remove scuff marks.

Tablet: Besides impressing your friends, what are the benefits of doing HG?
JF: You have improved general fitness, greater upper body strength, and you become an artist. HG actually started as an art project where we wanted to involve as many people as possible, submitting their own photos to us. When someone performs House Gymnastics they become the artist making the art, creating ephemeral human sculptures that last for only three seconds, thus blurring the definition of artist and viewer and questioning the nature of authorship.

Tablet: What are some of the most difficult moves to master?
JF: All the five star moves are pretty difficult, but the hardest is the xXx. There's the xXx challenge on the Web site where you can win a prize. Harrison got pretty close once and I can't even attempt it. It's really difficult and scary. Vin Diesel did it in the film xXx but that was probably computer trickery.

Tablet: What should novices start out with?
JF: Something like a bridge or a banister balance. Not much strength or fitness needed for those two.

Tablet: What sort of injuries have people sustained?
JF: I chipped my heel bone when I fell from an 8ft poly-resin goose. Man that hurt. I've also cut my hands a few times. A couple of people have submitted injuries to the site, the most severe being a broken wrist after attempting the xXx.

Tablet: Tell me about your open gallery space and its mission.
JF: We try to get as many people involved as possible. House Gymnastics takes elements from different sports, past times, music, social backgrounds, hierarchies, and various forms of documentation and publication (video, audio, magazine, book, website, broadcast, performance, etc) and puts them all together in an art context, so as to allow re-interpretation and enjoyment in any way that suits the viewer; be it voyeur, participator or critic. We want to spread the word of House Gym to the masses. Its fun, you get fit, you make some art and you can impress your friends.

Tablet: Part of your mission it seems is to take HG from people's home to site-specific venues. What has been the most interesting places that people have performed HG?
JF: Apart from the big plastic goose, Spencer and I invaded the Tate Modern Art Gallery a couple of months ago. We had a journalist with us to document it all. As soon as we attempted some, the head of security came and shouted at us and told us to get down. The journalist scarpered but we weren't put off that easily. We got followed around for a bit and we heard them talking about us on their portable radios. As soon as we lost them we busted some moves and took photos with my little crap camera. They're available to view on the Web site.

(De Kwok, Tablet Newspaper, April 2003)