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Track and Field, Meeting

Hudson Christie

September 12, 2014 - October 10, 2014

Essay by Exhibition Essay

September 12 – October 10, 2014

Artist Involved: Hudson Christie

Download Exhibition Essay

Sports equipment can often be traced back to an explicitly violent context. In the case of javelin throwing, the equipment literally shares its form and title with a weapon used in hunting and war. In Christie’s Track and Field, Meeting installation, the javelin itself reclaims its ancient identity as a tool used for killing.

The sports arena disguises the violent origins of sports objects through safety regulations, bright colours, and a comforting sense of organization. When this superstructure is breached, we refer to it as tragedy, but recognize it as inevitability. Where weapons are being thrown around, an accident is bound to happen.