While Fran Ilich’s girls got bored to death waiting for their television to be repaired, Harrison & Ford (James Ford) and Spencer Harisson were surely watching a divx of Spiderman.

Whilst discussing about boredom with each other in the upstairs hallway, and fed up with everything, wanting something different, fresh and alive. They both realised that they had both reached a crossroads regarding the context of their creativity, an important era was born and out of this meeting they busted their first moves. The Brace was conceived and perfected that one afternoon and several experimental versions of moves followed. A descriptive language was invented as a parody of yoga’s terms: words such as “busted” and “amped” entered the house vocabulary as part of everyday speech. The naming of each of the new moves became as important as the move itself. A website was designed and then what we now know as House Gymnastics was born.

The House Gymnastics website is like a parody, a cross between a corporate website and an artistic platform. Once you are in there, though, you begin to experience an obsessiveness as they explore their fascinations whilst being engulfed in a world of irresponsible childishness and enjoyable behaviour, that is shared with its dedicated visitors and membership. Harrison & Ford have invented various physical moves and positions to do on furniture and anything else that is available, such as tables, bannisters, sofas, walls and ceilings.

All their moves are documented on the web site, added with step by step advice and instructions for the curious, and newcomers who wish to also try out a few of them. There is also a regular features section, such as ‘moves of the month’ where you can see other people’s submissions. There are even exchange visits set up, organised between mutually obsessed, house gymnasts. A forum is available for all to use and group shows are performed as art events and in art galleries. A viral contamination is installed within the members section where you can ‘bust’ a H&F move or invent a new one. You hold it for 3 seconds, take a picture and send it off to be published on the site.

These new kind of spider men do not need any special super powers and have found a brilliant way to confront themselves, and each other mixing their physical, gymnast abilities with an art sensibility. You can catch them on a stairway named as “arena” and when an exchange occurs, a clash of two or more, you are experiencing what they term as a “quake arena”. With a healthy Mix of yoga, break dancing, and climbing in a domestic setting, House Gymnastics can be practised by anyone who is not scared of finding themselves upside down and venturing behind or above the darker side one’s fridge. Moves can be practised within a safe vicinity, indoors, and then once various moves are mastered they can be exhibited outdoors or in site specific gallery spaces. House Gymnastics is a great website proving that having fun is still possible, and being a kid still is available to anyone within an art context.

Don’t forget to visit the injuries page before busting your first move, and in case you got addicted: take up some normal hobby like knitting or stamp collecting like everyone else. If you want to get more involved or wish for info offline, you can buy the House Gymnastics book, or other merchandise such as the House Gymnastics T-shirt, or the House Gymnastics DVD, (“The 25th Element”, documentation of the first ever 25th Element attempt by Harrison&Ford), it’s all on the website.