Exercise
(Maastricht / Brusselstraat 134)
Exercise (2008) by Lucia Nimcova (Slovakia, 1977) shows older citizens from her hometown Humenné perform stretching exercises and dance routines. They perform from memory – they are routines from communist times when it was mandatory to participate in the exercises broadcast daily by radio. A bit stiff but elated, they show us these (dance) moves from the former Soviet Block. The past turns out to be very much alive. The work shows how deeply these dancing lessons and gymnastics are anchored in the body´s memory. Nimcova displays a generation that visibly carries the past with it. Exercise is a political, but not a melancholic work. The visitor is carried away by the obvious fun the pensioners have with the endearing dance routines and gymnastics.