KURT CAMPBELL
The tablet computer holders in this exhibition are designed to raise the fists of the viewer into a fighting stance when used. This posture will tire the arms of the user in an acute manner after a minute or two, an intended consequence that foregrounds the decidedly corporeal experience that is boxing. Endurance will thus be a requirement to navigate the exhibition.
The exhibition deploys a variety of three-dimensional objects associated with the practice and training of boxing. These objects are brought into conversation with the District Six Museum Boxing Archive using interactive technology. This technology incorporates tablet computers and augmented reality software that make digital archival images visible to the viewer.
The boxing gym installed in the gallery serves as a functional public artwork. It is a modern recreation of the famed “Western Cape Sporting Club” situated in the District Six area circa 1915.
The gym is accessible for the duration of the exhibition. At various times of the day, professional instructors will be present to demonstrate how to ‘throw a punch’ correctly.
This gym will travel to various locations around the city to encourage the practice of disciplining both the body and the mind, a crucial aspect of life for the boxers featured in this exhibition.
The final stage of the project involves the cataloguing of the images made available during the course of the exhibition (Boxing Ghosts) by various exhibition visitors who donated family boxing images