We’ll Stay in Touch by Phone

2024, antique wooden chairs, wire, paint, 5’ x 8’ x 3’2”

I do not believe that ultimately the technology of cellphones and the addictive and shallow nature of social media is beneficial for humanity.

We’ll Stay in Touch by Phone speaks to relationships and absence, and the loneliness resulting from our technology-dependent society. The primary relationship is now with technology, our phones our ever-present companions.

The piece follows the many artists who have used chairs in their work, including Joseph Kosuth, Doris Salcedo, Will Gill, Tadashi Kowamata, Ai Weiwei, and Chiharu Shiota. The use of antique chairs references a time prior to technology’s interference in our relationship patterns; their vacancy offers a poignant reminder of a time when it was more common for a social group to engage face-to-face at a table.

Hi-gloss paint replicates the colours of my family members’ iPhones. The gloss both highlights the imperfections of the chair as the self, and also mirrors the viewer, inviting reflection on their own lives and today’s society.