Gymnasium
健身室
Breathe Residency in Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester
Open Studio
Date: 19-21 August 2010
Gymnasium is a representation of Eastman’s response to shapes, forms and styles in Manchester and develops her earlier series entitled Swimming pools. Honing in on local architecture and consumer designs Eastman has created an alternative take on a standard gym room. Initially inspired by ornate British furniture design, such as the railway arches, renaissance spiral pillars and British turned table legs, Eastman has found charming relationships between these furniture styles and muscular forms found on the human body. For Eastman it was this chance similarity which led to the focus on the Gymnasium as a concept.
Eastman’s work often portrays every day settings in bright and lively ways, using vibrant colours and patterns to emphasise the sense of movement and fluidity in her furniture sculptures. Given that activity and energy are key features to any gym room it was essential for Eastman to capture a sense of movement in her work using vibrancy as her main tool.