Monday 10 November 2014

Wardrobe for the Emperor's New clothes

Here is one of my latest pieces which may well be submitted for auction at Sotheby's:





'Freestanding Storage for the Emperor's New Clothes':



The piece expresses the interaction between man and nature - the interference of man with nature (by compromising natural wood by turning it into plywood) and Nature's revenge by letting loose the force of its elements - rain, extreme sunshine etc. In its previous life the Objet d'art was a Ulitlity style oak veneered single wardrobe, perhaps designed by Gordon Russell and made in one of many sweatshops around the UK after the Second World War. The veneers have separated, peeled and curled, exquisitely revealing the stark bland core material. The cast metal knob remains intact and firmly screwed to the decaying plywood but seems to be saying 'am I next?'. The stain varnish is blistering in its pretence of being something it isn't. 








This masterpiece emerged by accident as I removed an otherwise ordinary, functional and lack lustre piece of furniture from service and left it outdoors to be taken away. The wardrobe door still opens and closes, the piece is still standing and I believe it is both a valuable expression of our rich furniture history and the direction our craft could take. 


I think it demonstrates where I am with my craft currently, the options that are open to me having proven I can make anything in wood to the same technical standard as a robot on the day the grid crashed. The piece takes furniture forward from utilitarian, to visual, to stark reality functionalism - the ravages and revenge of nature on a humble piece of utility furniture. 

I hope you enjoy my piece of fun!