In Damien Hirsts work he deals with life/death the life cycle but the work I was interested in was inspired by and compared to Francis Bacon "Hirst has openly acknowledged his debt to Bacon, absorbing the painter's visceral images and obsessions early on and giving them concrete existence in sculptural form" The Tranquility of Solitude (For George Dyer) triptych (detail)

Prototype: Ghosted Chair

This frame holds an old wooden chair profile in a black square tubular steel office chair frame. The back rest upright going into the leg is a sructural strength that both structures share, the black frame could be seen as an evolution from wooden construction. A part of its evolution as an object, a member of a family tree, a piece that has evolved from constant improvements and alterations natural and intended interventions to form and processes, all are still present in its construction. Chairs as footprints of their owners, empty chairs as echos of people, traces of their previous incarnations. There are posibilites for more abstract interpretations also.

There is potential in experimenting with fabrics and upholstery, printing and illustrations.

This idea evolved from the Beautiful freaks prototypes using left over chair parts to try and emphasise a new aspect of the form, the back leg up into the backrest.

Study: Death dying and dead stuff

our persepective on death and the neccesity to explain what happens afterwards...the dead headless pigeon with just its wings and torso left in the gutter. When we see dead things we can tend think about our own mortality, seeing something with its head detached it makes me think of more than death. It makes me question the connection between the head and the heart. The moment of death must be the single most isolating moment in ones life.

Prototypes: Prayer stool

This is a basic prayer stool crudely constructed from layered cardboard. I broke the form at the middle of the horizontal section and from these two identical components I have created a series of new prayer stools that require different postures which may be suitable for different forms of prayer. I would also like to examine the effects of posture on the psychology of the user, which forms lend themselves to certain postures that affect the type of spritual worship can be adapted to the object. The prayer stool in its christian form seats the user in a subordinated position. On ones knees, eyes to the floor in submission or to the heavens in wide eyed awe.

An aspect of this prototyping will involve an element of "auto destructive art". The original plan was to cover the pieces in text and leave to disintergrate in abandoned and derelict places of worship. I also intend on taking the forms and using different materials start playing with size and ratios relative to the various postures of worship to produce a series of prototypes for prayer based on these forms (and others not shown here). What is interesting is the potential additional limbs or support structures that go with the form. Some forms require additional limbs, some bizarre postures others require additional objects (other furniture/chairs/stools) and some require physical structures (buildings, caves, trees, cliffs, vehicles - floats/carnivals/fiestas) these relationships echo the nec relationships developed between the individual and these aspects of beleif and all its paraphernalia.

Prototype: torture chair

pain has been described as the "archetype of subjectivity". Subjection to sensation is possibly one of the more interesting subjects permeating modern life through politics (privilage, torture, hope - for change), the entertainment industry (escape, desire, prosaic)...etc ...The things I am looking for are the things that isolate through the experience.

Study: Chair in river

Study: Chair in stream, half submerged photo

chair thrown in the steam collected debris

Study: SOAS smoking seat

Another smokers seat. Break time fags for the SOAS maintenance staff

another here