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House Gymnastics - a fusion of yoga, break-dancing,
gymnastics and climbing - was invented by Nottingham-based art graduates
Spencer Harrison and James Ford one day when fixing a bedroom blind
without a stepladder.
A year on the House Gymnastics website is attracting 250,000 visitors,
James and Spencer are appearing on Des and Mel, Richard and Judy
and Terry and Gabby and they've got a book out in January...
We speak to James Ford about the word of mouth craze and media phenomena.
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How'd you end up in Nottingham?
I studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent Uni, and Spencer studied
photography, but we didn't meet until after we had both finished.
How did HG come about?
HG didn't have anything to do with my course (it happened 4 months
after I had finished) but my art background and Spencers photographer's
eye definitely contributed to the idea.
HG was born during a ridiculous attempt to install a Venetian blind
in my bedroom. We didn't know there was a ladder in the basement
and so preceeded to install the blind by lifting each other up and
climbing the window frame.
Since then every domestic space has become a potential climbing
challenge.
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| James Ford |
What's it all about?
HG allows you to have fun in your own home. Its a parady of Home Fitness
routines/videos, but it has, in some people's eyes, actually turned
into that!
People take it seriously and use HG to keep fit. I probably would
if I wasn't so lazy and didn't spend all my time writing e-mails and
doing administrative stuff!
The book came about when an agent guy in America approached us after
seeing the website and asked us if we would like him to get us a book
deal. Everyone should give HG a go!
You've probably done it before when you were young, or bored, or waiting
to get into the bathroom - that unconcious urge to wedge yourself
up the corridor and touch the ceiling.
I notice that HG isn't house bound...
It originated and developed in a house, but then we realised there
were exciting spaces and structures outside the home that HG could
be adapted to, with some great results.
The first site specific move was The Goose. A beautiful wedge manouvere
between the head and wing of the big plastic goose that sits on the
round-about by Forest Fields, whenever the Goose Fair is in town.
We've done it in various locations, including
a couple of art performances, and we were also filmed for a short
documentary, in the Speak Easy pub near Trent Uni.
There were around 10-15 of us and we took over the entire place.
Passers by don't tend to do much - they're too scared or can't be
bothered. There's quite a few nut-jobs in Nottingham so it's quite
reasonable to steer clear of a man on a big plastic goose. We have
been heckled in the past in Old Market Square by young pikey lads,
but its not too bad.
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| Step-by-step : the x-door |
How did HG become so big? Is it just a media
phenomena or are there people all over the country doing the moves?
All over the world! No joke. A group in Switzerland made their own
fan websites and then invited us out there to do a House Gymnastics
Day in Zurich.
We flew out and were filmed by VOX, for a German TV show. The media
blows it up but people are actually doing HG around the globe. A
TV crew recently flew all the way over from Korea to film us for
a documentary!
HG began life in Nottinghamshire. You're now in London. Do you
know of whether HG is still practiced here?
We still get members from Notts, but as to whether anyone could
be said to be actively practising HG I'm not sure.
Would you prefer to be compared with free running or extreme
ironing? Have you tried free running?
HG is different from both of those, but it's closer to free runnning.
I don't like extreme ironing that much because it's too obviously
a joke. It doesn't even work - what's the point in ironing a shirt
under water? Free Running/Le Parkor is excellent but Ii've never
tried it properley.
What else are you doing with your life at the moment?
I've just finished an internship at the Victoria Miro Gallery where
I got to meet a certain Mr Grayson Perry.
I've got a place lined up on the post-graduate Fine Art course at
Goldsmiths next year, and at the moment I'm plugging away with my
latest project - General Carbuncle. He needs our help so get routing
through your old junk for a lovely little red or orange toy car
to donate to the cause. All is explained at:
The 大象传媒 is not responsible
for the content of external websites.
When were you last in Nottingham?
I came up last month for a party in my old house. I do miss Nottingham.
It's a nice place when it's not raining. I still hate Jo and Twiggy.
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| House Gymnastics
- in the streets of Nottinghamshire |
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House Gymnastics - the book - is out in January
2004. Read
our review of the book >>
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