SQUAT
2017-2018
VR installasjon
A Virtual Reality Installation consisted of a 10-minute session with VR glasses with a personal trainer (PT).
In SQUAT the fitness apparatus is utilized to display its inherent structuring of the lived socio-political experience. From the flexibility searched for in the gym to the subject caught in an economic world — where ageing, decay and rigidity become the navigation line between ultimate defeat and possible protest. SQUAT as a whole consists of a series of videos, sculptures and VR tech taking their departure from the aesthetics, apparatuses and ideologies of the fitness industry. SQUAT refers to the subject’s failure to act adequately on instruction. I want to bring attention to the haptic, shaking, fleshy body stuck in the centre. In a society always adapting to the newest demands, the body emerges as the image of the rebel.
In the gym your only concern is yourself, you are anywhere and nowhere, enclosed by a hallowed space where decay and worries from the outside world seem absent. In SQUAT its constructed, virtual environment overlaps the installation in the exhibition space. In this virtual space the object’s has a programmed plasticity proximity, which mean they behave differently to the nearly identical objects present in the gallery space. This can create anxiety and uncertainty. To alleviate this I introduced the Personal Trainer. This person has several functions: to be an ‘object’ in space in a costumed suit and most importantly to instruct, comfort and touch while guiding through space.
Work consisted of:
- Physical space (IRL):
- Foam Mat- 3×4 meter
- 3 Cushions machine in cut foam and synthetic leather (shape of negative space of standard exercises: squat, plank and sit-up)
- HTC-Vive and computer.
- Projector projecting VR POV.
- PT in a suit with logo, iPad with booking schedule and equipment for cleaning between sessions.
- Stayed in character and followed the script.
- Virtual space:
- Created in Unreal Engine.
- Gym room with mirrors where projection was.
- Cushions in exactly the same spot as IRL.
Cushions reacts to proximity.
Their materiality differs from IRL cushions, they become wobbly and jelly-like.
They change, you might?
SQUAT the manual
Manual, guide to installation and text with advice from other artist:
Petrine Vinje, Stian Ådlansvik, Ragnhild Aamås, Pierre Lionel Matte, Marie Askeland, Hanne Rivrud.
Press release:
In the gym ageing is absent. Site, as in geographical location, is absent. The Abject is absent.
Is the body an object to be placed? Altered. Moulded. Into flexibility. To infinity.
Leave the problems outside of here. The pain of others. Illness. Death. Decay.
Clap to the beat.
The Gym is Your place. YOU will change to a series of repetitions.
3-4 sets of 6-8 reps.
Guidance is followed. Carbs are burned. Tech clothing keeps you dry and chafe-free.
Look in the mirror. Are you made of flesh?
Remember the protein bar.
In two weeks the progress is reset, don’t slip.
Sweat is precious. So creamy and delicious.