GRAVITY & GRACE ⭐GYM-HYMN☆
2024
Gravity & Grace, Gym Hymn is a dream space--an ode to bodybuilding and the communal pursuit of beauty, strength, and transcendence, within the gym. Drawing on the ideas of Simone Weil and Émile Durkheim, this work views the gym as both a collective ritual and a site of discipline, for the gym is not merely a site of hyperbolic sculpting, but an exalted atmosphere where gravity and grace converge!
In the gym, eccentric and exaggerated forms challenge conventional ideas of beauty, creating visceral experiences that shift between the grand and the vulnerable, transcending the physical toward a higher, shimmering realm of affective engagement!
This installation of objects reflects upon my morning gym ritual, the distinct energy of gym culture and the dazzling spectacle of bodybuilding tournaments. Here, bodybuilding itself becomes a monumental performance in an elevated reality. In response, each object emerges as a symbol within this theatrical setting, materialising qualities like grace, strength and sensory intensity---taking the shape of fanciful equipment, to offer an immersive encounter in an absolute Gym Hymn aesthetic.
Though these forms, I engage with Weil’s book, Gravity and Grace, encapsulating a tension at play—between gravity (the weight of the material world) and grace (the transcendent). In bodybuilding, the athlete is bound by the body’s material limits; yet through discipline and attention to form, grace emerges.
Materials: Fine silver, Pearls, Wood, Spray paint, Glitter, Titanium, Anodised Tinium, Steel, (mild and blackened), Hand-blown glass, Fabrics (e.g., chiffon, cotton), Embriodery, Silicones, Found objects, (various metals, other materials) CNC-ed Silicone upholstered Synthetic Objects, Rubber, (e.g., polystyrene) Lumi lightboxes, Fine art prints. NORLA DOME measures 17m in diameter.
2024
Gravity & Grace, Gym Hymn is a dream space--an ode to bodybuilding and the communal pursuit of beauty, strength, and transcendence, within the gym. Drawing on the ideas of Simone Weil and Émile Durkheim, this work views the gym as both a collective ritual and a site of discipline, for the gym is not merely a site of hyperbolic sculpting, but an exalted atmosphere where gravity and grace converge!
In the gym, eccentric and exaggerated forms challenge conventional ideas of beauty, creating visceral experiences that shift between the grand and the vulnerable, transcending the physical toward a higher, shimmering realm of affective engagement!
This installation of objects reflects upon my morning gym ritual, the distinct energy of gym culture and the dazzling spectacle of bodybuilding tournaments. Here, bodybuilding itself becomes a monumental performance in an elevated reality. In response, each object emerges as a symbol within this theatrical setting, materialising qualities like grace, strength and sensory intensity---taking the shape of fanciful equipment, to offer an immersive encounter in an absolute Gym Hymn aesthetic.
Though these forms, I engage with Weil’s book, Gravity and Grace, encapsulating a tension at play—between gravity (the weight of the material world) and grace (the transcendent). In bodybuilding, the athlete is bound by the body’s material limits; yet through discipline and attention to form, grace emerges.
Materials: Fine silver, Pearls, Wood, Spray paint, Glitter, Titanium, Anodised Tinium, Steel, (mild and blackened), Hand-blown glass, Fabrics (e.g., chiffon, cotton), Embriodery, Silicones, Found objects, (various metals, other materials) CNC-ed Silicone upholstered Synthetic Objects, Rubber, (e.g., polystyrene) Lumi lightboxes, Fine art prints. NORLA DOME measures 17m in diameter.
11:00 27|11|2024 - 01|12|2024
MISSION TO SEAFARERS (NORLA DOME)
717 Flinders Street, Docklands
Naarm/Melbourne
VIC 3000
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MISSION TO SEAFARERS (NORLA DOME)
717 Flinders Street, Docklands
Naarm/Melbourne
VIC 3000
Images courtesy:Leanna Maione Photography 🩵