Art with plenty of (hula) hoopla

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12 April 2012

Visitors will be encouraged to swing through an obstacle course of hanging gymnastic rings as part of an exhibition opening tomorrow.

Rather than just viewing art, ticket-holders at the Hayward Gallery are enticed to use their whole body to experience it.

Curator Stephanie Rosenthal admitted that her arms ached for an entire day after she took the William Forsythe gymnastic challenge, called The Fact of Matter. "Health and safety [inspectors] just did it and they were laughing hard," she added.

Move: Choreographing You explores the links between visual artists and choreographers since the free spirit of the Sixties encouraged collaboration between art forms.

Visitors can squeeze through a tiny corridor designed by Bruce Nauman or balance on a seesaw-like installation by Robert Morris similar to works which led to 23 injuries at the Tate.

The public are also invited to swirl a hoop in front of a film installation by Christina Jankowsi about a woman's daily hula-hoop workout on a New York roof. There will be free hula-hooping for beginners at the Royal Festival Hall on November 6 to coincide with the show.

Other works include a nine-screen installation, Ten Thousand Waves, by London artist Isaac Julien which encourages viewers to move between them to understand a story of Chinese migrants. Portuguese artist João Penalva has a display dedicated to the clog dance from Frederick Ashton's comic ballet La Fille mal gardée.

Dr Rosenthal said: "I want people to have an understanding that you perceive with your whole body."

The exhibition also involves daily performances by 38 dancers.

Move: Choreographing You runs until January 9, admission £11.

I'm going back for another go

This is the adult equivalent of venturing into a playground at the age of four. Pieces are spread across three levels of the gallery and range from a huge rectangle of hanging rubber rings to a gauntlet of balloons and balls.

I have no idea why there are not more of these places for everyone. Lack of inhibition is the key. I managed to reach the halfway point — my flailing limbs got the better of me. Rumour has it that a girl, only months older than me, completed the rings yesterday. There is also a room scattered with Hula Hoops. I am more accustomed to eating them from my fingers than swinging them around my hips but I must admit the latter left me with a sense of achievement.

But it is not all fun and games. One installation invites you into a dark room suddenly filled with spotlights before the sound of a loaded gun clicks. Less friendly.

The Hayward's exhibition invites you to get involved but this is not military fitness and there is something to be said for getting yourself moving and feeling in an art gallery. I'm certainly going to be back to master those rings.

Emer Martin

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