PERSONAL PROJECT / WORK IN PROGRESS

Sitting studies.

Exploring togetherness by way of sitting practices

In early 2021 I came across a perfect storm of references: a growing fascination for Japanese joinery, the book Entangled Life, a masterful account of fungi ecosystems and their symbiosis, and a deep-rooted drive to celebrate togetherness in the aftermath of a pandemic.

It all brought me to think about chairs and consider, well, making one.

Inspired by the exhibition Nine ways of sitting organised by AZPI Kultur Erkatea in Donostia – San Sebastián, I started researching sitting practices as a way to bring people together.

This page collects some early references and will grow as the project progresses.

Sitting inspired by mushrooms, kawai-tsugite and togetherness.

I started with pulling together some examples of some of my favourite chairs. Drawing them helped to get a better sense of their shapes, balances and constructions.

Some classics, like Hans Wegner or Charlotte Perriand, but also contemporary makers like Yinka Ilori or Carlos Ortega. Plus, African chief chairs, which I’ve always been fascinated by from when I was a kid playing on one at a family friends’ place.