surplus; numbers are ruining me
2016 / performance /
Running and statistical recording are not new phenomena for humans, but seen together they offer a foray into the system of non-objects that has an increasing stake in having control over biological bodies. The only truly essential pieces of equipment in modern exercise are numbers according to Mark Greif. And while almost everybody is a statistical person, modern exercise can be seen as an example how these statistics of self-tracking bring ideas of efficiency to a very intimate level. Being an amateur is all of a sudden a very serious job.
surplus; numbers are ruining me is an endurance performance that looked at the fragility of human body while fulfilling the desire to collect, store, and analyze data that the body emits on the way towards an imagined finish line. The performance took place on a treadmill over the course of more than 8 hours, while meticulously keeping track of various data that my body emitted. Where does self-fulfillment through numbers become self-indulgence is the question that the performer asked, as being on a treadmill was at least as much about failure as it was about achievements.