Throwing and Catching

Participatory performance installation with 1000 wasted tennis balls collected from Thor de Bataaf tennis foundation in The Hague. Every tennis club has a graveyard of dead balls. The lifespan of a ball runs from 3- 4 games to 3 months in training. Even though most clubs send their balls to recycling there is no sustainable process to reuse their materials, eventually they find themselves thrown in trash. In throwing and catching these balls receive a new purpose as a meditative apparatus enhancing well-being. The physical activity of throwing and catching is formulated in a set of exercises and games attending to precision, rhythm and breath. In its pure form the pleasure of throwing and catching is experienced when grabbing a ball.The satisfaction of the grip, the gravitational play and fine physical and mental attention can be delightful and calming to both watch and do. The installation invites visitors to partake in the activity, following a set of exercises and throwing balls on a counting plate placed in the room.

The work was developed as part of WASTELAND, a transdisciplinary festival on waste ecologies at The Gray Space in the Middle, The Hague and supported by Stroom Den Haag.