Exhibition and Collection Seminar
Exhibition: The Muscle Chair – An apparatus for measuring men.
Place: TEGEN2, Bjurholmsgatan 9B, Stockholm
Dates: 19th of January until the 18th of February
Opening times: Friday to Sunday 12-17
The Muscle Chair – An apparatus for measuring men is an exhibition by Björn Larsson and Carl Johan Erikson and part of a larger research project that investigates a specific segment of recent Swedish history. It concerns the 35 000 men that between 1966 and 1992, chose not to complete traditional military service, but instead applied for, and were granted, non—combat service. The right to conscientious objection is the main focus of the project, as well as societal expectations, norms and gender structures.
Specific to this exhibition is an investigation into one part of a bureaucratic and mechanical apparatus that was designed to measure young men in connection with screening and registration for military service. Throughout the years in question, 47-58 000 men were annually screened for military service.
The Muscle Chair:
Weight: 90 kg. Height: 137 cm. Width: 70 cm. Depth: 80 cm. In operation: 1969-1997. Amount in operation: 10-12. Tests carried out: 2 346 246.
Link to the video The Muscle Chair – An apparatus for measuring men
