Featured photographer

Jo Longhurst: A-Z of Gymnastics

215 photographs of the human body in action, captured in various poses and mounted along the curved wall of the museum, create a fractured system of tucks, pikes, straddles, layouts and twists - the basic components of a gymnastics routine. Working with editorial sports photographs from various professional, commercial, and museum archives, I explore the pursuit of perfection, highlighting the changing photographic technologies employed in sports reportage, and the role of lens-based media in the creation of the gymnastic spectacle.

My interest in social systems, power and control is readily apparent in my
A-Z, as are other formative influences, such as my exposure to Soviet propaganda and Constructivist aesthetics. The name and formal installation of this work hint at an order or system, but one that fails to fully materialise in the artwork. The presentation of immaculate photographs of famous gymnasts performing key moves is undermined by a fractured repetition of similar photographs, which place the gymnasts (and photographers) within a particular cultural and political context.

A-Z of Gymnastics has been commissioned by Pavilion as part of the Pavilion Commissions Programme 2008.

Related Link: www.jolonghurst.com | Pavilion Online Gallery

Video Download: Artist Interview | Transcript Download: (PDF 37KB)

A - Z of Gymnastics, 2008