2022
Existing chair, pillows, muslin, batting, rubber bands, string of pearl beads
How do the objects that live in our surroundings embody context? How does context prepare an object to embody an imbalance of power, and what is it that lurks behind certain conditions of sleekness?
Through this collaboration with Vedika Modi, I explore thinking as a somewhat fervent iconoclast. By covering every inch of a chair that I interacted with on a daily basis, I sought to erase any preconceived notions of Good Design. The re-upholstering of the base chair served as meditative practice; the process was wholly intuitive, sometimes agressive (strapping, binding) while other times gentle (draping, pleating). Whether consciously or not, Vedika and I were preparing a new landscape on which to build our respective practices moving forward.
Communion, reclamation, care.
Existing chair, pillows, muslin, batting, rubber bands, string of pearl beads
How do the objects that live in our surroundings embody context? How does context prepare an object to embody an imbalance of power, and what is it that lurks behind certain conditions of sleekness?
Through this collaboration with Vedika Modi, I explore thinking as a somewhat fervent iconoclast. By covering every inch of a chair that I interacted with on a daily basis, I sought to erase any preconceived notions of Good Design. The re-upholstering of the base chair served as meditative practice; the process was wholly intuitive, sometimes agressive (strapping, binding) while other times gentle (draping, pleating). Whether consciously or not, Vedika and I were preparing a new landscape on which to build our respective practices moving forward.
Communion, reclamation, care.
In our research, we examined the visual culture surrounding seating. Here are two examples of the fetishization of the chair alongside the female body. One is explicitly depiciting a naked woman atop a stool. One is prompted to ask, what was the intention behind this image? What does the model’s bare body have to do with this stool?
The other image is a spread that appeared in a July 1961 issue of Playboy magazine. This exaltation of the male industrial designer, fully clothed, autonomous, and posing on or next to their creation was sandwiched between pages catered to the male gaze.
The other image is a spread that appeared in a July 1961 issue of Playboy magazine. This exaltation of the male industrial designer, fully clothed, autonomous, and posing on or next to their creation was sandwiched between pages catered to the male gaze.
See also these images of the campaign for Le Bambole sofa...
The process began...
How could we grapple with these representations, some old and some new, from our position within the same field? We cycled through confusion, rage, helplessness, and acceptance.
What power did we have? How could we wield it?
We could be cruel, or we could be kind, or we could be both.
From our bodies we shifted focus to the chair as a body. After many conversations and hours spent pinning, strapping, draping, and sewing...
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New York, New York