Public Reserved, 2022
Wooden folding chair, wooden folding table
79 x 43 x 47 cm, 66 x 48 x 37 cm
The work examines a privately owned chair through the lens of the inscription Reserved, using this term to challenge prevailing notions of ownership and accessibility. By foregrounding the tension between private objects and public space, the piece suggests that artefacts marked by systems of reservation can transcend individual possession and acquire a form of communal significance.
This interplay generates a layered dynamic: the private attributes of the object are experienced within a public context, transforming discrete encounters into a shared narrative. The work proposes a paradoxical environment in which privately owned objects occupy public settings, activated by individuals who reconfigure these spaces into personalised experiences.
Adopting a functional approach, the piece incorporates a private object akin in purpose to public seating, re-contextualising its characteristics through a deliberate act of inscription. In doing so, it reframes the object’s role and invites reflection on the shifting boundaries between the private and the public.