Fifteen years ago I was sweeping the floors of a small martial arts gym. In return for my work I was allowed to train for free. I couldn’t afford the gym fees because my family was still suffering from the effects of the 1990s recession.
“LEAVE YOUR SHOES AND EGO OUTSIDE”
At the gym I met a really tough guy called Bob, who could take a punch without flinching. Bob reminded me of my father in many ways. Both of them needed help to get back on their feet from time to time.
Bob Was My Father Figure is part of a work consisting of video installations and sculptures where I examine the ever-changing relations between the body, the mind and the identity. Gradually, fractured memories and experiences form structures that resemble the self, but there seems to be no completion, no becoming whole again. Growth is a fractal experience.
vainio.v@gmail.com