What if I was the ball... ?
Somewhat inspired by Fluxus artist Yves Klein's Leap into the Void (1960) and a strange fascination with the aesthetics of rugby at the time, What if I was the ball? (2009) changed the rules of the game of rugby for a morning where I was ‘thrown in’ as the ball in a new kind of rugby line-out. My fellow players were the junior Pirates Rugby league in Johannesburg who temporarily changed their rules to imagine and enact an alternative unwinnable game. Looking back, I see how this female body leaping into a line out of male bodies looks like an act of frivolous abandon, but it could also be seen as an act of trust. After the throwing and running there was lots of braaing, drinking, eating and laughing.
Thanks to Pirates Junior Rugby Club, Parkhurst for their time, openness and curiosity.
Photographer: John Hodgekiss and the last photo: Ken Jerrard
