Objet trouvé in the City
Six stories of abandoned chairs recontextualised in a dramatic, scenic atmosphere.
Through the diversity inherent in a conglomerate, the City is a place of daily discoveries. City dynamics provide the 'surprise' elements such as 'situations' and objects that amaze by their disharmonious relationship with the surrounding environment. In my vision, an abandoned chair in the street constitutes a visual disruption in the urban landscape by its unnatural appearance in the city space. Through minimal artistic interventions, an ordinary and uninteresting object can be transformed into one with artistic valences, thus acquiring the status of an Objet trouvé.
During my various psychogeographical explorations in Bucharest, Romania, I photographed several chairs of different types, abandoned in the streets, damaged and seemingly meaningless. The state in which I found them suggests that the abandoned chairs have lost their status as useful objects to people. Thus, in contrast to the ambience of the urban environment, the chairs become characters that express their condition through the way they appear before the viewer, creating a dramatic scenic image.
During my various psychogeographical explorations in Bucharest, Romania, I photographed several chairs of different types, abandoned in the streets, damaged and seemingly meaningless. The state in which I found them suggests that the abandoned chairs have lost their status as useful objects to people. Thus, in contrast to the ambience of the urban environment, the chairs become characters that express their condition through the way they appear before the viewer, creating a dramatic scenic image.
The Chairs project presents a series of six abandoned chairs, recontextualised and presented as protagonists of their own stories. The project is inspired by the play 'Les Chaises' / 'The Chairs' by the renowned French writer of Romanian origin, Eugène Ionesco. It presents, like Ionesco's play, a Universe where the meaning of things and the real purpose are missing, and life situations can become absurd at times. Starting from this idea, I used photos with various details and urban scenes taken in Bucharest to create digital collages. These scenic images present my imaginary vision of these chairs-characters in a theatrical atmosphere. While developing the contexts for these imagined characters, I found it essential to assign them names that reflected their roles. Through visual narratives, you'll encounter 'The Fatalist', 'The Fighter', 'The Evil', 'The Guardian', 'The Invalid' and 'The Needy'.
The Fatalist
The Fighter
The Evil
The Guardian
The Invalid
The Needy
Virtual exhibition
The visual narratives were displayed in a virtual exhibition hosted by the Hubs by Mozzila platform alongside photos of abandoned street chairs. Unfortunately, the platform was closed at the end of May 2024. I present the following screenshots so you can get an idea of how the exhibition was organised. Additionally, I presented this exhibition to the final celebration of the 4th World Congress of Psychogeography, held on September 4, 2022.
Pictures with abandoned chairs
Virtual exhibition space features visual narratives alongside photographed chairs found in various locations throughout the city.
