In Girevik, a man embarks on a physical exchange with iron weights.

Responding to the objects’ proposals requires him to push his body to  the edge of its physical abilities. The artist travels through a  territory defined by obstacles, constantly at the risk of reaching a  dead end. Confronted with his vulnerability, he labors to keep the  cast-iron bodies moving. Precisely, gently, sincerely, he rearranges the  heavy piles again and again. His fragile play interlaces stillness with  collapse and order with chaos. The result is a slowly unfolding  composition, full of noise, sweat, and tangible tension built through  the artist’s physical and emotional effort.

Girevik muscles in on the domain of the traditional  “strongman “archetype, and wrestles it to submission. Deconstructed,  strength is unburdened of stereotypes. This work explores what is  strong, and what strong is, in our nature, and explores the subtleties,  revealing emotional, intellectual, and psychological dimensions.

The piece challenges the historically hyper-masculine aura around the kettlebell and seeks an alternative poetics of labor.

Without language