By some wonderful twist of fate I have
had the great opportunity to intern with Jamie Oliver’s marketing team this
summer as they have embarked on the The BIG Chair Project. You may have
heard whispers through Twitter and Facebook of an upcoming Jamie Oliver project
and perhaps dismissed it as another food-related venture, however as it happens
it is something far bigger than that. Finally my art historical skills have come to good use and the great team here have allowed me to write
the blurbs for each of the chairs that will be revealed on the website… but
in the meantime, here’s a piece I’ve been working on for my dear friend at http://www.160grams.com.
ENJOY!
Although the petals of the Olympic Flame have disbanded and the fiery
cauldron cooled, the world has branded London with an indelible stamp of unity,
empowerment and inspiration. Danny Boyle’s vision of a child rising through the
depths of literary heroes and villain’s to an intellectual nirvana reflects the
hope that Britain has entrusted in its future generation. Inspiring young
Britain to harness their creativity and achieve great things was once again
reiterated in the celebration of British designers during the closing ceremony when
designs by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey for Burberry
and Paul Smith dominated the stage. As 23 million souls witnessed their
creative marvels, the British design ambassadors were endowed with the weighty
responsibility of enduring the legacy left by the Olympics.
Today it was revealed that another thread would intertwine the trio of
designers as they embarked on Jamie Oliver’s BIG Chair Project. You may have
heard whispers through Twitter and Facebook of an upcoming Jamie Oliver project
and perhaps dismissed it as another food-related venture. However to celebrate
the tenth anniversary of Jamie’s Fifteen, a program appealing to
underprivileged youths, Jamie’s charity The Better Food Foundation has enlisted twenty prestigious designers and artists including designers Burton, Bailey and
Smith, as well as Tracey Emin, Quentin Blake and Jamie Oliver himself, to adorn
a collection of 28 Fritz Hansen ANT™ chairs. Fuelled by the objective to
“educate, empower and inspire”, an apt ethos in the aftermath of the Olympics,
the Foundation will close at an event in October after a mix of online and live bidding.
As an extension of her Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, Sarah Burton’s
chair maintains the eccentric ethereality of the McQueen fashion house. Powdered
pink silk is sucked into an undulating labyrinth of ruffled canyons that erupt
into a delicious soufflé of your favourite naughty-but-nice treat. Like her
collection Burton’s chair is one of contradiction, flirting on the cusp of
artwork and object: artificiality and organic: femininity and brutality. The
delicacy to which Burton has constructed her swirls of fabric testifies to the
designer’s mastery of handicraft and shape. Her rebellion of practical design
elevates her creation to the realm of haute couture in its detail, uniqueness
and beauty.
Ever faithful to the Burberry aesthetic Christopher Bailey for Burberry inspired by, and I quote,
a “meat basher”, has conceived a chair that simultaneously engages with classic
simplicity and bold design. Bailey’s embellishment of the chair with a series
of studs testifies to the texture and power of the kitchen utensil. The high
finish of the chair is credited to the lengthy process by which the chair was
made: the studs are forged onto the surface
itself thus consuming the chair with its own design, urging sitter to explore
the paradoxical relationship between functional necessity and the practicality
of transient trends.
As a close friend of Jamie’s, Paul
Smith’s contribution to The Big Chair Project records the tumultuous battle
of the ‘id’ and the ‘super-ego’ of food. On one side, Smith collages his chair
with the “disgusting kitsch cakes” of Fanny Craddock, presenting a garish but
delicious feast for hungry eyes. The voice of food consciousness patterns the
back of the chair, as a kaleidoscopic spread of fresh fruit and vegetables, as
advocated by Jamie, notes the positive alternative to the sugary treats.
Matthew
Williamson conjures
up a phantasmagoria of pom-poms and pears as though having just stepped out of
a surrealist masterpiece. The British designer, famed for his vivacious prints
and embellishment, sets golden pears and branches of cranberries within
bouquets of orchids and spectacular tropical flowers in a symphony of
psychedelic colour and mouth-watering food.
Another outstanding contributor to the project is illustrator Quentin Blake. Embarking on his first
venture with chairs, Blake explores the overarching motivation behind the BIG
Chair Project: children. Blake’s first chair depicts levitating children juggling
fruit salads and chomping on apples tiling the seat with playful tributes to
the charity. His second chair is dedicated to a fantastical family of dragons
passing down the knowledge of cooking know-how, ironically a myth to the
children of the current generation.
The
centrepiece of the auction will be a Tracey
Emin ANT™ chair, which will be unveiled at the event
as an exclusive item.
Jamie Oliver has also taken on
the challenge, collaborating with world renowned photographer David Loftus on
two chairs, and customizing a classic EGG™ chair and footstool himself.
Commenting on The BIG Chair
Project, Jamie Oliver said, “It’s incredibly exciting to think that
Fifteen restaurant and the Foundation have been helping to
inspire, educate and empower young people for 10 years now. I'm truly
humbled to have such a brilliantly talented group of people from the
fashion and art worlds to help on this fantastic project to raise money
and help us mark the occasion. If you'd like to help us
celebrate too, check out the Foundation website for more info.”
A full list of artists and designers involved
in The BIG Chair Project:
·
Barnaby
Purdy
·
Cath Kidston
·
Christopher
Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative Officer
·
David Loftus
·
Emma Tissier
·
INSA
·
Jamie Oliver
·
Jay Jay
Burridge
·
Jonathan Yeo
·
Julian
McDonald
·
The Liberty
Art Fabrics Design Studio
·
Matthew
Williamson
·
Nunzio Citro
the Colour Kid (former Fifteen apprentice)
·
Paul Smith
·
Quentin
Blake
·
Ricardo
Cinalli
·
Sarah Burton
for Alexander McQueen
·
Superdry
·
Jo Sampson
for Waterford
·
Tracey Emin
There are lots of
ways for the public to support the initiative. Some of the chairs will be
available to win as part of a lottery.
People simply need to buy a
ticket at www.thebigchairproject.com to support the initiative and be in with a chance of winning a
unique chair from one of the designers.
The remaining chairs will be
auctioned online to give fans across the world the chance to get their hands on
a truly unique piece of furniture.
For more information about The
BIG Chair Project and to donate money to the Better Food Foundation, please visit
www.thebigchairproject.com.
Excuse any spelling/grammar issues, it has been MANIC trying to write this... I would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone at Jamie Oliver and The Better Food Foundation for making my time with you an absolute pleasure and I hope to work with you again soon!
All photographs © David Loftus + David Parry
