In the space, the chairs are dedicated to…
Mixed media, 21 x 27 cm each
Empty, removed or cancelled chairs became an evident symbol of how everyday life has changed during the pandemic. These speak of physical distance, the absence of bodies, lost lives and the suspension of different kinds of activities from recreational, social, spiritual, cultural and work related. The proposal consists of acquiring several types of chairs used in different kinds of places and occupations, ranging from restaurants, bars, museums, offices, domestic environments, barber shops, schools, airports, train stations, cinemas, shopping malls, banks, stadiums etc. If this memorial was to be built the Biennale of the Americas and other Institutions involved in the project would offer an economical compensation to the donors of the chairs (the type of exchange deal can vary depending if the donor is an individual, family business, school, corporation etc). These chairs would be anchored in public space with no possibility of moving them. The location of each chair would be dictated by finding a place as if the chair “should not be there” as a kind of disruption into the logic of the space but that still the chair could be safely used. This would exaltate the strangeness and displacement of the object in that location, that would be as varied as the provenance of the chairs. The only visually added element to the chairs would be a small copper plate with the legend “ Dedicated to ____”. Each donor of the chairs would dedicate it to someone else. This aims to erase the individual authorship on behalf of the other, even mine as an artist since I would donate the first chair. Because at the end the personal is collective and we should all support social collectivity. The proposal has the capacity to keep spreading across different geographical zones.