Chairs
Where the Human Body Meets Industrial Strength 2024

To My Beloved Body,
What might happen if you accepted reality as it is and stopped resisting?

In this project, I approach my body, with all its physical and psychological complexities, as a material that can be redesigned. My body, characterized by its flexibility, rigidity, movable joints, and varying sizes and connections, is integrated with iron, a material that embodies the oppressive forces I’ve faced. Iron’s hardness and violence reflect the harsh realities of colonialism. By merging my body with iron to form a chair, I explore thirteen different ways this integration can occur. This transformation raises questions about endurance, identity, and human relationships. How long can one exist in this state? What are the implications of being used, and who will determine the conditions? The transformation into a chair deepens the emotional experience, heightening all senses as I feel the weight of the iron and the user’s presence. Intimacy and exploitation are intertwined in this context, measured by proximity, shared space, and the duration and weight of the user. The eyes remain the last human element, with the degree of exploitation increasing as eye contact is avoided. Cultural norms are broken, and new ethics and manners are created.