Abandoned Chairs stems from an earlier work entitled ‘Foursights’, which was collaboration with the artist Sam Brown. This project was initiated in 1998 and took the form of an open submission photography competition promoted in Norwich, Liverpool, Bristol and Newcastle. Leaflets requesting ‘non-traditional’ views from each city were produced and displayed in galleries and public places. The selected photographs were then collated into sets of postcards and displayed and sold in racks in newsagents and tourist outlets in each participating city.

The above project was the catalyst for a significant ongoing archive of photographs taken in streets and public places in the UK and overseas. These photographs document the traces of people’s interaction with a place, either accidental or deliberate. The main body of the work is recorded using a small hand held camera in a deliberately casual way, reflecting the nature of the interventions. More recently these images have also been captured using mobile phone technologies. The work in the collection depicts the detritus of the streets that is far from traditionally attractive: abandoned chairs, neglected street corners and quirky configurations of discarded objects arranged by happenstance. This documentation of everyday found street oddities often traces mischievous, but harmless, antics. They reflect an often-overlooked perspective that might be viewed by others as disturbing or pointless. The works capture the humanity of ordinary everyday scenes that are chosen for their immediacy and humour.

Whilst cataloguing the collection it became apparent that within the archive there was a series of images depicting abandonment chairs in a range of unusual surroundings. Why do we see so many chairs left desolate in strange places? Maybe some were used as a makeshift staff room for people sunning themselves in their coffee break. Some may have been used as convenient oversized door wedges. Others have no obvious or logical explanation. I exhibited a small selection of these ‘chair’ images in a solo show at the former artist run space in Norwich, the Frontier Gallery. During the exhibition a number of people contributed images that they had taken of chairs in similar situations, and people still capture new sightings and send them to me. The appearance of this theme and the instant connection it made with people highlighted the fascination and relevance this area holds. There is a degree of mystery with the abandonment of chairs that instantly involves the viewer with the possible reasons and narratives behind the image.

There is a full colour 64 page publication to accompany the exhibition price £5

The exhibition has been funded by Norwich School of Art and Design