Clarke & Reilly

1 (c. 1880), 2013
2 (c. 1790), 2013
3 (c. 1890), 2013
4 (c. 1870), 2013
5 (c. 1950), 2013
6 (c. 1850), 2013
7 (c. 1690), 2013
8 (c. 1890), 2013
Clarke & Reilly
1 (c. 1880), 2013
Mahogany, silk, waxed linen and cotton, beeswax
Dress Chair. English. Circa 1880. Describing their style as "unashamedly romantic and tirelessly imaginative", Clarke & Reilly - otherwise known as Bridget Dwyer and David Grocott - are known for reworking one-off pieces and imbuing the disheveled with a new narrative. Having collaborated as an artist duo since 2005 and bringing together their backgrounds in fashion (Dwyer) and antique furniture (Grocott), they create unique objects that convey their nostalgic and slightly eccentric aesthetic. '8 Chairs' exemplifies this reverent attitude towards design as each of the historical chairs, selected to represent a specific character in the artists’ minds, has been reinvented with period fabrics. The reworked forms were then left to weather an icy winter atop a Peckham building before being transported to the scorching Californian desert. The dramatic consequences of such extremes were all documented through film and photography.