We Need to Talk
Fall 2024Mild steel, nylon mesh, thread
66in. x 36in. x 96in.
After taking a course at Brown University on mechanical engineering, I was fascinated by the difference in how the course examined materials compared to my Form in Metals class at RISD. Much of the course focused on how a material breaks, deforms, or fractures under force. Inspired by this different perspective, I wanted to make a structure that felt as though it was about to break under tension, but wouldn’t.
Upon thinking about tension as a mechanical property, I was also reminded of tension’s definition as an emotional property, though both had this association of suspension or something being pulled at. Uniting these concepts, I designed this set of chairs and an intermediate screen to ‘facilitate’ or perhaps create a tense conversation between two people. Between these high-backed chairs, a double-pointed spear is suspended entirely by the support of triangles of mesh fabric, capturing the dangerous yet mesmerizing quality of the moment before impact.