17 October-28 November 2008 Private View Thursday 16 October 2008
The Economist Plaza 25 St. James’s Street London SW1A 1HG
An improbably high stack of chairs with no visible means of support, ‘Chairway to Heaven’ has been specially created for the Economist Plaza. The work references minimalist sculpture, Pop Art and especially Brancusi’s ‘Endless Column’; a 29m high cast-iron monument representing the mythical point of connection between heaven and earth.
Using chairs of humble origin, the sculpture reconnects with the daily struggle of the modern Londoner, whose hopes and dreams waver between lofty ideals and earthly realities. It has a very British quality: the chairs form an orderly queue; but although the neat pile might appear to represent conformity, it hints at an underlying possibility of disorder, a tipping point. Is it toeing the line or crossing it? Playing by the rules or bending them? Is it an aspirational tower of unbounded optimism or a rebellious stack vying to eclipse the tall buildings on either side?
‘Chairway to Heaven’ is part of an ongoing body of work by Debbie Lawson using furniture, carpets and panelling which takes the viewer on a journey through the psychological landscape of the domestic interior, creating a series of animated hybrids each with a quietly sinister inner life and aspirations to be bigger than itself.
The artist would like to thank John Gerrard at Adams Kara Taylor for his invaluable assistance, and Tim Price at Advanced Furniture.
Debbie Lawson will concurrently be exhibiting ‘Dysfuncadelia’ at Nettie Horn Gallery from 10 Octobe – 16 November 2008
25b Vyner Street E2 9DG www.nettiehorn.com
