EAST OFF SITE PROJECTS

Norwich's Strongest Man & Woman
David Brazier
born 1974 Perth Australia
studied Curtin University Perth
and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts Paris
lives and works London

David Brazier organised Norwich’s Strongest Man & Woman Competition. The value of being physically “strong” is almost irrelevant in today’s society, bringing a humorous redundancy to the competition. By placing an arm wrestling competition within the context of an open submission art exhibition he aims to juxtapose the heroics of professional sport with the aesthetics of minimalism. Jeremy Deller suggested holding the competition in the city centre before the opening to attract a non-arts based local community to EAST. This happened on Hay Hill on Saturday 17 June from 12 to 4pm. With new funding from the Arts Council, T-shirts were being printed, there were badges for competitors and a new arm wrestling table was commissioned. £100 prizes were presented as oversized cheques to the winner of each category. David Brazier designed a poster to advertise the event to gyms around the city and made contact with the police and fire brigade. The exhibition space contained photographs, video highlights and signage from the competition as well as the custom made arm wrestling table so people could have a go themselves.