work / DECONSTRUCTED REPRODUCTION 2107/18
Deconstructed Reproduction 2017/18
Painted steel and painted wooden balls
deconstructed found object
The Hang It All is a modernist classic designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1953. Its playful nature exemplifies their design philosophy to “take pleasure seriously”. Unfortunately, Australia’s lax copyright laws has allowed these objects to be copied and sold providing the words 'Reproduction' or ‘Replica’ is used. Many major designers of the 20thC have been targeted by the replica curse including Aalto, Featherston, Wegner, Stark and Eileen Gray to name a few. Often mass produced in huge quantities these counterfeits are usually poor-quality imitations of the originals and sold en masse in cheap, discount stores. Apart from lost royalties for their hard work, the effect ultimately undermines the original designer’s intent and reputation.
Over the past few years I've collected a number of used replica Hang It Alls found in a various flea markets. As slightly damaged and poorly made copies they had absolutely no intrinsic value. I decided to rework these as an experiment, grind and chop them up, take them apart and reconstruct them into a new format, rearrange the elements, turning a negative into a positive. Using my grinder, I carefully cut the copies to bits. The remaining steel and wooden pieces were then rearranged into a new freestanding composition. Deconstructed and reconstructed, these new sculptures, while paying homage to the original designers have become entirely new interpretations. These works remain unexhibted, as it was the idea and process that appealed to me, they exisit as curious experiments that will hopefully lead into other more ambitious projects.
Below: Original found replica of an Eames Hang It All in the process of deconstruction
