JUMPERS (WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED)

Jumpers (what must I do to be saved) is a newly commissioned video installation for Live at LICA. The work documents a live experiment in manipulation and compliance. Working with 35 strangers and a hypnotherapist over the course of a day, the work seeks to define the moment of abandonment when we tip in to another state.

The piece takes inspiration from the religious practice of ‘jumping’ as a form of worship. ‘Jumping’ was performed over the course of 200 years from the 18th Century by English, Welsh and American Protestant Christians. It was a physical response to a religious state that words could not express – and a phenomenon known to be contagious within a group. The actions and emotions of the ‘Jumpers’ can be found echoed in various forms of contemporary culture – from the mosh-pits to raves, we see the convulsive and possessed movement of people shifting from agony to ecstasy.

The exhibition is open 25th January – 22nd March 2013. More information from the gallery web site.