John COURT, UK/Finland

Born in 1969 in Bromley, Kent, lives and works in Lapland, Finland.

Since 1999 John Court have been using the eigth hour work day as a critical tool to investigate not only work but society and its framing of economy and time. Working mainly with durational performance, Court uses repetition, time and exhaustion as compositional means for this macro level embodied analysis. While on a micro level exploring different personal experiences and difficulties encountered throughout his life, from childhood to the present day. In his work Court substitutes narration with a repetitive action conveying an existential questioning of time and alienation. But also of life itself. For Court this is not only an intellectual construction, but concepts generated and rooted in his own personal life. Thus, creating a sustained expression and fusion of the personal and the universal.

John Court graduated from Camberwell School of Art, London in 1994 and from Norwich School of Art and Design in 1997 with a degree in Sculpture. He moved to Finland in 1997, and lives and works in Lapland, close to the Arctic Circle. His work has been exhibited in the UK, Scandinavia and Berlin, and his performances have captivated audiences worldwide at events such as Infr’Action Venezia in Venice Italy (2013) SpaceX Gallery Exeter in UK (2012) Guangzhou Live Art Festival in China, ANTI Contemporary Art Festival in Finland (both 2010), the Venice Biennale (2005) and the Liverpool Biennial (2004).

John Court is participating for the third time at Live Action, where he previously were showcased in 2006 and 2013. Invited to take part in Live Action’s durational strand, Live Time, Court has created a new original work that nobody have yet seen or experienced, not even the artist himself.

For more information please visit John Courts' website

John Court. Art Tra. Live Action 2. 2006.