Lilu Herlambang - The Chairism

A Huddle of Chairs. Kampot, 2018.

berjalan, bertamu.

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to walk, to visit.

a photography project by Lilu Herlambang

^^^ join the cult now ^^^

expanding the concept into

/// The Chairism ///

or

The Observation of the Art of Living.

Kampot, 2018.

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Wandering through South East Asia, you may be familiar with the sight of a chair in the most absurd places or situations. It may seem normal at first glance, but after gathering all the little details of the surroundings, suddenly it's like finding a needle in a haystack; so obvious, yet completely invisible.

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In Dystopia : Behind Bars. Dhaka, 2020. (This work was exhibited in Bali Emerging Artist 2021 with Sika Gallery.)

It is a collision of public and personal space as you wander through the streets of Asia; a huddle of chairs, a crowd of people, you can find anything on the street. These are not public street benches as they vary in shapes and conditions. These old broken-down sofas, weather conditioned rattan chairs are the kind of chairs as you may have in your house.

So figuratively, as I am walking through the streets, at the same time, I am walking through your living room.

The Only Supporter. Dhaka, 2020.

Public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all people, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. These are public gathering spaces such as squares and parks, as well as connecting spaces, such as sidewalks and streets, are also public spaces.

In a domestic context, a front porch or terrace where you receive guests are also considered to be public. Little coffee stall on the sidewalks (or as we say in Indonesia; warkop,) where workers usually stand around and gather over a tiny cup of coffee and a pack of smokes also counts as public space.

Would this then be public or private space? | Kampot, 2018.

Private space is the immediate area surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs; a bedroom or bathroom is private space, considering that you wouldn't just let anyone in your area. A house, can therefore, count as a private space as well, but one problem we Asians face is that often we do not have much private space and in the instances when we have guests over, we would have them in an outside setting.

Sometimes, the whole living room setting would be right outside the boundary of the house boundaries, on the sidewalks, or in the middle of the alley.

Dhaka, 2020.

In this project, I follow and document the change in the functionality of chairs; by capturing abandoned chairs all over the streets of Asia; from a place for people to sit down and gather, or "nongkrong", to a gateway for our 'New Normal' where we access the world through desktop or screens. I enjoy watching how changes in the way we perceive and use our environment is illustrated in the way we use, and sometimes discard, chairs.

Kampot, 2018.

The question is then are you enjoying your private space in public?

Kampot, 2018.

Krabi, 2018.

...or making your public place private?

Todd and his Chairs. Chiang Mai, 2018.

In Dystopia : Behind Bars

In Dystopia : Hidden from Sight

In Dystopia : Apocalyptic

The series In Dystopia is part of Bali Emerging Artist 2021 by Sika Gallery. These works are exhibited in Ubud alongside 16 other artists from 20th March - 25th April 2021.

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Bali, 2021.