The Chair

The Chair subverts the traditional rush-seated chair. A small wooden seat traditionally used to teach children to eat at a low table. In this reinterpretation, the woven rush is replaced by…rusted concertina wire, transforming an object of comfort and learning into one of hostility and pain.

The piece addresses the distortion of safety: how spaces and objects meant for nurture can be corrupted into sources of suffering. The sharp, corroded wire contrasts violently with the familiar wooden frame, creating a disturbing contradiction: a chair that invites yet repels; a place intended for growth, yet fraught with danger.

Fear is deeply rooted in this transformation. The act of sitting, once instinctive, becomes an impossible choice, reflecting the experience of those who, through circumstances beyond their control, find themselves in hostile environments where even the most basic human needs — rest and nourishment — are fraught with risk. The Chair questions the very foundations of safety and asks: What happens when that which should support us becomes that which wounds us?