Detail of Book of Chairs, video furniture, 1997″ to “Book of Chairs, video furniture, 1997” and move this caption up so that it appears directly under the video file.
Book of Chairs is a suite of three black and white video works produced for a fixed row of coin-operated TV chairs, of the type that used to inhabit airports and bus stations.
Footage for Book of Chairs was collected at the departure and arrival gates of airports in Vancouver, Winnipeg Toronto, in Halifax, and in the treatment room of a dentist’s office in Halifax.
The video works (Arrivals, Competence and Departures) may be watched in part or in whole and in any order. Twenty-five cents gives fifteen minutes of viewing time per chair. Proceeds are donated to exhibiting venues, which may direct them to charity.
Book of Chairs was developed during a residency at the Western Front in Vancouver. The installation photos seen here were shot in the first exhibition of the work at the Western Front Gallery., curated by Antonia Hirsch and Judy Radul.