Tokiwa Gallery, Tokyo March 2, 1980
Tamura Gallery, Tokyo May 11, 1980
Tamura Gallery, Tokyo December 30, 1980
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| Stelarc is an Australian born artist ,whose work has turned quite a few heads .This particular series deals with the body in different "spaces". Being over a decade old, the work is/was quite ahead of its time. For more on Stelarc see the links page . | |||||||||||||
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| "It was intriguing as to whether the body could suspend itself. The weird thing was that with the 4:1 ratio pulley system, it could easily pull itself up - effectively 1/4 of its weight - but of course the physical stress of the stretched skin was that of a 66 kgm body. So there was this split between what the body was doing and what it was feeling." -Stelarc | |||||||||||||
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Tokiwa Gallery, Tokyo March 2, 1980 |
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| "The insertions were done with the body laying on the floor, below a halo of rocks which had been suspended from eye-bolts in the ceiling with slip-knots. When everything was connected the cords were tugged, releasing the rocks. As the rocks came down, the body went up. The body started to gently sway from side to side, triggering random oscillations of the ring of rocks. Everything was in motion, balanced and bouyant. Everything was connected and and contained. Thoughts of obsolescence flickering in and out of the silence. The telephone rings. Murmurs. Distractions. Sitting, suspended and anxious." -Stelarc | |||||||||||||
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Tamura Gallery, Tokyo May 11, 1980 |
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| "In the event, the connection between the suspended body mass and the ceiling was severed. The body was suspended from equally spaced eyebolts in the four side walls. Displaced a lot more stress and strain on each insertion point - the skin was pulled up, out, and twisted. The body was on the verge of passing out when it was lowered down after only 60 seconds of suspension." -Stelarc | |||||||||||||
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| "Although the feet were touching the floor, the body felt it was spiralling upwards as it circled around, its vision focussed on the one point on the ceiling from which all the cords eminated. In fact, as the body circled, the twisting cords almost lifted it up, with only the tips of the toes groping the floor." -Stelarc | |||||||||||||
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Tamura Gallery, Tokyo December 30, 1980 |
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| These pictures were taken from The Obsolete Body. Photo credits as noted. | |||||||||||||