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May 4, 2013

Leap After The Great Ecstasy

An Artistic Video Looks at the Labor Behind a Monumental Swiss Ski Jump

London-based artist Melanie Manchot films workers on the slopes of Engelberg as they meticulously prepare each inch of the world’s largest natural ski-jump for athletes taking part in Switzerland’s annual cup competition. Oblivious to freezing weather, they obsessively work 24-hour shifts blasting away excess snow and brushing out grooves to achieve a faultless 123-meter-long in-run where record holders leap heights of 142 meters at gravity defying 91 kilometers-per-hour take-off speeds. Filming portraits at the much-loved event for a multichannel video work titled “LEAP after the Great Ecstasy,” currently showing at Carslaw St Lukes in London, Manchot captured the workers’ warm charm that is in stark contrast to the meditative state of the ski jumpers. “They have to be so totally focused, and on the whole don’t talk to each other. They are in an absolute bubble. At that level of world class ski jumping it is all down to mental control,” says Manchot of the competitors. More than anything the short is a love letter to the workers behind the scenes who make the event happen: “The film is really about them and the dedication they commit towards the preparations.”

“LEAP after The Great Ecstasy” is showing at Carslaw St. Lukes through June 1.

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Spotlight

Will Self: On Your Bike

The Acerbic Author Waxes Lyrical About the Joy of Two-Wheels

On the eve of his appearance at the Intelligence Squared cycling festival, celebrated novelist and cultural commentator Will Self speaks to NOWNESS of his love affair with the “inert lump of metal.” Having converted to the train-handy fold-up Brompton bicycle nine years ago, the Cock and Bull writer is evangelical about the nifty British machine, lauding it as the optimum way to orient oneself to a new town or city. The proud owner of several sets of wheels, Self rhapsodizes on the “beautiful Zen experience” of riding a fixed-gear, and the triumph of the human spirit embodied in the bike. “I cycle alone. I walk alone. It’s not really convenient to cycle with other people,” the notoriously sardonic author muses. “Do you want to just spend your time looking at someone else’s bum, or do you want to encourage someone else to just look at your bum?” Appearing at the debate alongside fellow writers Bella Bathurst and Geoff Dyer, Self is set to provoke the kind of gloriously freewheeling discussion that tends to follow him around.

For more information on the Intelligence Squared Cycling Festival at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday 8th click here.

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Spotlight

Joey Duck: Unstoppable

The British Track Star and 2012 Olympic Hopeful Gets Cloned for Nike Hyperfuse

A hail of dust and laser projections compete for the attention of bright young sprinter Joey Duck in Nike's exhilarating short to launch new innovation fabric, Hyperfuse. Bound together using heat and pressure, the triple-layer composite material is a seamless wonder, derived from technology originally created as a design solution to the wear-and-tear of blacktop basketball courts on footwear and now being introduced to Nike sportswear. With gold medals at the European Championships and Senior Aviva World Trials to her credit, 22-year-old Duck is one of Great Britain’s hotly tipped standouts for London’s 2012 Olympic games. Her trainer agreed to the film on the condition that she spend the shoot on a treadmill, clocking a level of mileage commensurate to an average training day, but the session presented its own set of challenges. “It definitely tested my balance and concentration skills,” the athlete says. “Multitasking was the order of the day: trying to run, not fall off the treadmill and ignore the explosions!” Nike commissioned Remi Paringaux, former Vogue Hommes Japan art director and founder of POST Magazine, to direct the film, which utilizes a three-part split screen as a visual echo for the fabric’s groundbreaking assets: stability, breathability and durability. We stole precious time with Duck to find out what it takes to beat the clock.

How did filming compare with your usual training regimen?
It didn't compare at all! I never go on a treadmill. I like to keep my feet firmly on the track—one that doesn't rotate.

  What does your average day consist of? 
I'm usually up at the track for 10am, which isn't too bad. I'll have a main session in the morning, whether it's running or weights. Depending on the day I'll have other bits like plyometrics and circuits included. On most days I will be back in the afternoon for either maintenance/rehab exercises, training drills or pilates.  

How do you celebrate after a race?
If it's a weekend Mum will cook a roast dinner—a must after a good race on a Sunday.   

How do you relax when you’re not on the track? 
The usual things 22-year-olds do: go shopping, chill out with friends, go to the cinema, see the family, sleep!

What are you most looking forward to about the 2012 Olympics?
I'm excited to see the show London can put on. The atmosphere in the athletics stadium will be incredible, and I think that excitement will be around London for the entire games.

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