For centuries, domestic furniture has lived alongside us silently, encouraging interaction with the body and serving their purpose as functional objects. Because of their usefulness, they can stay with us for a long time. Being in our everyday lives, they absorb the memories and histories around them, acting as a material testament to people or occasions, so much so that they can become containers of memories.
However, in today's consumerist society we are encouraged to discard these containers of memories in favour of a newer, more fashionable version. By doing this, are we not, in effect, condemning our memories?
Re-Design is a project which addresses the need for desirable, fashionable furniture, but does so by recognising the worth and value in unfashionable or damaged objects, using existing, unwanted or discarded furniture and material found on the streets of Leeds, or donated to the project, as the material and framework of the products. By altering the functions and aesthetics of the furniture, I have found new ways to experience, explore and expand the possibilities of these objects, increasing their longetivity, whilst still retaining and celebrating their history. Showing that yesterdays junk can be todays treasure.