Table nr. 8 by sonia e barrett

sonia e barrett

Table nr. 8, 2012

Gold leaf tray, ceramic wheels, styrofoam, wood

30 x 60 x 160 cm

This work is made of high-value materials; the tray is gold leaf, the wheels porcelain. None of the materials actually serve the table itself well. With this piece, I wanted to meditate on the gold standard of service that is expected in some institutions that have a service culture, as well as the gold standard writ large as a capitalist economic construct. I worked thinking about all the people, the animals, the plants, that bear the weight of this service, and how these are all objectified. Under the tray, I have translated a four-legged table into a four-limbed human form. The lion's feet are animal feet the wood was once a plant a tree. Together they are objectified for service. This piece has rearranged itself to show it's humanity as best as possible in the situation. There is nowhere to go from here as a full articulation by standing up is impossible because of the wheels. When I look at this piece, I also see the struggle of getting up over and over and having the floor just slide away. I saw in this furniture a kind of will to become itself or call attention to its selfhood. There is a kind of tragedy in that there is no more articulation possible this is as far as this can get, and it is not very far... Service and independence were key ideas in the creation of this work. Some can see the piece resting. This is another valid perhaps more positive read, but the problem of standing remains.

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From sonia e barrett

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Additional Artworks

Dreading the Map, created as a map-lective. The Royal Geographical Society London. March 2021, 2021

Dreading the Map, nr 1, Jan, 2021., 2021

Sky, Feb 2020 (Villa Romana), 2020

A Fabulation Chair nr 63 finds joy here and now., 2016

The Detained Table., 2016

The merchants vitrine table, The Sea as a Locked Space of Trade,, 2013

Table nr 21, uprooted drowning, 2013

Chair nr 35, 2013