13/04/2024 - 19/05/2024
Coup de Ville 2024: Artists and Athletes, the hill they climb
curated by WARP / Stef van Bellingen
Within the context of Coup de Ville 2024: Artists & Athletes, the hill they climb, I created an installation that examines the friction between strength and limitation of the body in sports. I interviewed several Belgian and Dutch athletes, both with and without impairment, about their relationship with their body. We talked about how they experienced their physical and mental limitations, pains, strengths, and the pressure to perform.
Based on these interviews I made a series of sculptural works and paintings, depicting specific features from the individual athletes. Push, breathe, limit, repeat addresses the body as an instrument; where characteristics, body parts, muscles and vital organs function as props in a dressing room.
While this dressing room focusses mostly on the physical conditions of the athletes, the installation in the hallway zooms in on the mental processes. In most of the conversations I noticed a strict separation between body and mind – when the body serves as an instrument with flaws, the mind is there to control its aspirations.