UNLEASHED: FRESH MEET artist STUDIOFLEK Chris Miller and Lisa Kajewski
UNLEASHED 2022 - FRESH MEET
Chris Miller and Lisa Kajewski | STUDIOFLEK | Gold Coast
Nominated by Ruth Della, Curator, HOTA (Home of The Arts)
Figures of Fast Furniture: Fungus of Capitalism
1.23 million tonnes of domestic kerbside waste gets sent to landfill each year in Queensland.
A significant portion of this is less than 5 years old, herein lies the problem of fast furniture, in turn the inherent failure of capitalist ideologies. As such this work explores an alternate possible future for the fast furniture industry. Suggesting temporary furniture solutions made from waste, which is grown rather than toxically fabricated.
Rather than making furniture under the guise of lasting, this project seeks to make figures with an intentional short life span. Made from organic waste from the food and furniture industry, the works are grown in forms in a unique biological symbiosis. Mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms feeds off the waste, bonding the bi-product of other industries. The result is a lightweight off-white colour, chipboard like structure which can be broken apart and biodegrade in a home composting system. Instead of adding to the already toxic spillage of current landfill, the works will add a greater level of biodiversity to the backyard vege-patch.
IMAGE CAPTION 1: A two-tiered figurine with a warm globe nestled within the concave form of the Mycelium. Materials: Mycelium (Ganoderma steyaertanum), sawdust, LED light, frosted glass globe.
IMAGE CAPTION 2: A singular concave tube with a warm globe. (detail) Materials: Mycelium (Ganoderma steyaertanum), sawdust, LED light, frosted glass globe.
IMAGE CAPTION 3: Stool # 3. Materials: Mycelium (Ganoderma steyaertanum), recycled spotted gum, sawdust
Simple 3-legged stool with reclaimed spotted gum seat top and a baby Reishi mushroom attempting to grow off one of the three cylindrical legs.
IMAGE CAPTION 4: The fourth prototype (coincidentally with four legs), pairs neatly with Stool 3 and Side Table 3 to create a neat biodegradable morning coffee setting.
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MAIN IMAGE: Mycelium (Ganoderma steyaertanum), sawdust
