Artist Sebastian Errazuriz turns Occupy's visceral anger into a line of chairs

Date
18 June 2012

One of the most encouraging things about the Occupy movement which swept through parts of the Western world last year was that it re-engaged many artists with socio-political themes and re-energised themes and ideas that had fallen out of fashion a bit. One of my favourite responses came from Chielan-born New York-based Sebastian Errazuriz whose Occupy Chairs took were inspired by real slogans which appeared on protesters’ placards. Ranging from the considered “To big to fail is to big to allow” to the, um, more straightforward “Sh*t is f**ked up and bull sh*t” it’s a nice way of capturing the anger and the frustration that erupted but also perhaps a slightly subversive reaction, plastering these comments onto the most prosaic commercial design fair staple – the chair.

The chairs were a hit at both this year’s Armory Show and last week’s Design Miami/Basel so we’re clearly not the only ones to be seduced by this neatly simple idea.

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Sebastian Errazuriz: Occupy Chairs (Design Miami installation shot for Cristina Grajales gallery)

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Sebastian Errazuriz: Occupy Chairs (Design Miami installation shot for Cristina Grajales gallery)

Above

Sebastian Errazuriz: Occupy Chairs (Design Miami installation shot for Cristina Grajales gallery)

Above

Sebastian Errazuriz: Occupy Chairs (Design Miami installation shot for Cristina Grajales gallery)

Above

Sebastian Errazuriz: Occupy Chairs (Design Miami installation shot for Cristina Grajales gallery)

Above

Sebastian Errazuriz: Occupy Chairs (Design Miami installation shot for Cristina Grajales gallery)

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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