Post-uni blues can lead to many people climbing the walls, but Nottingham duo James Ford and Spencer Harrison took this literally
Post-uni blues can lead many people to begin climbing the walls, but Nottingham duo James Ford and Spencer Harrison took this literally and turned what was once considered a sign of madness into House Gymnastics. Part-artform, part-sport, part-media phenomenon, which you can indluge in without leaving your home. We caught up with the latter half of the Harrison and Ford team to discuss Carpet Crabs, climbing around a Swedish tattoo parlour for German TV and passing out on the Nottingham Goose...
The site specific idea is brilliant...
Yeah, it means you can take it out of the house but still use the same moves.
Any strange experiences busting moves in public?
Once we were doing a photoshoot for the Daily Mail in Nottingham city centre. I was ill so Spencer had to do it by himself and the guy interviewing asked him to climb a lampost, so he got up there but then he started getting harassed by this group of 16 year old pikey kids who crowded round him and started shouting abuse, baying at him like dogs. He said he was a bit scared, that was probably the worst thing.
What are the best venue's you can think of for HG in Notts?
We did a performance once in a place down near the train station, it was an art event with loads of different performances by various people which had loads of nooks and crannies... that was good. People have busted moves on the Lion... the Goose... the Sky Mirror.
How do you see HG growing? Have yo any plans to develop it?
We became a bit numb to it because we did it so much. Now the members are more inspired than us... it kinds of fades out after a while... initially you get really excited about it, for a month or two, and you have a great creativity with it, but after that time there's only so much you can do. But because there's so many new people discovering it, they're all having that fantastic two month period and coming up with new ideas, it's coming from the people who visit the website now, so it's up to them.
You did a House Gymnastics day in Zurich, was that earlier this year?
No, summer 2003. It was really weird. For some reason we ended up being in a newspaper in a town called Basil? Just outside of Zurich. This girl contacted us and was like `I love it, I love it. Why don't we arrange a HG day?' Spencer and I just thought yeah right, it's never gonna happen, but she managed to hook up with bock? TV, which is the big German sports channel out there and they filmed it. She put posters up everywhere and there were about 30 people who turned up. We stayed at her place. She had talked to all these different shops and we were split into 2 groups in Zurich city centre and went off on our separate ways with film crews and there was a list of things we had to accomlish, like you had to do a move in a tattoo shop and other little challenges.
Any advice for the noice house gymmer?
I would say start with the easy stuff which is on the ground like a Floor Chicken or something, or one not too dangerous, like a Door Wedge or something and slowly progress. Don't take things to steeply at first. Just like the book says. The moves have star ratings, so just follow them up.
What are your plans for Christmas?
I'm going to go home and see my parents. Go see my drunken grandma. She's always drunk and a bit racist, but she's quite funny.
What do you want Santa to bring you?
Erm... a House Gymnastics book... and a toy model of Stephen Hawking... one that could sing the `I love House Gymnastics' song.
House Gymnastics website
James R Ford website
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