(1) wooden chair parts, wooden table parts, metal grid organizer, various fabric strips, thread, threaded metal rod, bolts, nut, washers, UL compliant E26 corded lamp w/ switch
(2) metal folding stool parts, metal chair parts, metal grid organizer, shade, bolts, nuts, UL compliant E26 corded lamp w/ switch
These lamps are a response to a culture centered on thoughtless consumerism and its result: un-examined waste. They are part of a larger design series of chairs, tables, mirrors, and shelves that reconsider discarded objects found on NYC sidewalks. The works attempt to salvage the potentiated energy found in each component, through assemblage and collage, to highlight their preconditioned design attributes and give them renewed value. They represent a continuation of the legacy of readymades and DIY culture that imagine a future in which diminishing resources is the prevailing condition and poses the question of whether beauty can be found in playing with what is left behind.
A project by
Houston Parke
Houston Parke is a designer based in New York whose work focuses on the adaptive re-use of discarded household furniture. He studied architecture at Syracuse University and works as a set decorator and art director in the film industry. Having been a participant and witness to the absurd scale of wasted materials in this industry, his work seeks to engage this waste and how a world focused on ceaselessly acquiring new goods can reflect on its excesses. He sees his practice as an act of resilience and a tool for hope in a time of collective uncertainty.
He has a collaborative practice called ChairChairChair, with Isaac Haseltine, in which they make chairs out of found objects - these works are being shown at Esther Art Fair in NYC between the 12th-16th of May.