Traceur

The installation Traceur ( French verb tracer,” to trace") consists out of several figures that are participating in non-competitive activities. The sculptures are made of hard-shell plastic amour plates that derive from protective gear that has been assembled from sport equipment. The exhibition space will be inhabited by these creatures that are free-climbing, base-jumping and follow deeply concentrated a bizarre game shown on a monitor.
The title derives from the Parkour movement in witch a participant is trying to move as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible in urban surroundings. It takes an explicit stand against sport competition and rivalry and because of its notorious unorganized nature, the absence of well-defined practice grounds and official rules, the activity is often mislabeled as extreme or Life style pursuits. These slowly emerging subcultures have been fascinating Westphal because they seem to rebel against the established norms. Competitive sport manifests by rating nations, teams and individuals carrying in its basic core the Western cultural thinking. It lets us be blind concerning the fact that there are worldwide many cultures that show a different approach to these topics for example a stronger link between the physical and mental/spiritual training.