In 1818, the treadmill was invented as a form of punishment in British prisons. More than 200 years later, it has become a cultural symbol, and running today can be seen as the modern human’s cultural fever. With the performance work Gyldne Tider, visual artist Jonas Erboe stages running and the treadmill as both historical artefact, aesthetic object, and social phenomenon.

Gyldne Tider is a nationwide performance project in which Erboe will complete 12 marathon runs throughout 2026 – one each month – on a golden treadmill. Each run takes place at a unique location in Denmark and forms a chapter in a larger work that examines running as a cultural practice and symbol: What are we running from, where are we going, and why?

The project is a continuation of Erboe’s artistic practice, in which running functions as both method and motif. This simple, ancient movement becomes a prism through which contemporary performance culture, collective behaviour, and our relationship to resistance, momentum, and control are explored. Today, running is no longer just exercise, but a sign of self-discipline, surplus energy, and identity.

At CC10, Erboe marks the beginning of Gyldne Tider. Here, the golden treadmill is activated through a series of short “Shakeout Runs” that point toward the upcoming marathon tour and invite audiences to experience running as an artistic action, repetition, and ritual gesture.

Jonas Erboe (b. 1992) lives and works in Copenhagen and graduated from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design in 2024.