Research explores juggling beyond the circus

The project examines how historical situations and materials can serve as a resource in artistic creation and method development. By combining juggling, sculpture and archival work, Erik Åberg explores how artistic practices can be broken down and reassembled in new ways.

‘I am investigating how juggling’s fundamental principles for analysing, breaking down and reshaping movements, objects and relationships can be understood as general artistic methods, and how these can be transferred to other art forms to develop new ways of working’, says Erik Åberg.

A central part of the research revolves around the reduct-construct method, an established approach within juggling where movements, objects and structures are broken down into smaller components and then rebuilt into new forms. The project investigates how the same principle can be applied in other artistic fields, such as sculpture and archive-based work.

‘When I’m doing research, I’m constantly filled with wonder, a thirst for discovery, inspiration and joy. It’s unexpected all the time’, says Erik Åberg.

The research project also draws on historical contexts within the circus and juggling, where the materials and working methods of a century ago differed significantly from those of today. By studying jugglers from the late 19th century, the project examines how objects were often created or modified rather than standardised.

This historical material is used to understand how the relationship between body and object develops through long-term practice and how such knowledge can be transferred to other contexts.

Archival material is treated in the same way as juggling or sculpture – as something that can be broken down and combined in new constellations. In this way, it becomes an active part of the artistic work and contributes to the development of new methods and perspectives.

By moving between practice, materials and historical sources, the project investigates how artistic knowledge is formed, communicated and further developed. The results show how new insights can emerge at the intersection of artistic work, reflection and historical material.