Over the course of days and weeks, disciplined series of numbers have been compiled to record the daily consumption of cigarettes. At first glance, Josef Dabernig’s actions here could look more like conscientious bookkeeping than free artistic work. Only his handwriting deviates from the writing grid, breaking away from the strict regime.
excursus on fitness, 2010 Josef Dabernig
The training participants are immersed in their uniform, silent activity. The enticing promise of attractive, powerful bodies is, it seems, still a long way off. The disciplining of the body at the gym appears both a form of ritualised loneliness and a deviation from standardised ideals.
