Scotty Bemelen — 'Barely Contained' Chair, 2024

In the realm of fables and folklore, the narrator’s role is fundamental. For as long as there have been stories, there has been the riveting practice of their telling. We can all recall campfire circles with a single voice holding court, a favourite chair in which a grandmother once sat and read to entranced children or a rudimentary stool that, when pulled out, became a siren call for the telling of a tale. These scored memories are what Scotty Bemelen’s works draw out of the memory bank.

Two of Scotty’s works are featured in Fables and Folklore, both chairs that embody a sense of singular gravitas. Their whimsicality is evident in their gnarled unconventional form that, while echoing that of a recognisable chair composition, have the appearance of being grown deep within a densely wooded place rather than meticulously shaped by the hands of a carpenter.

Shaped by a many-toothed grinder from a recycled Oregon beam, the first piece is rendered with a gleaming richness, its burnt ochre the result of a multi-layered application of stains added one drop at a time. Its rudimentary form reflects the practice of its maker, its shape revealed as Scotty engaged in a process of unintentional restoration to overcome a creative block by unlocking rigid thinking through the freeing euphoria of physicality. The second piece, a patinated copper chair, has the impression of petrification. Its moss sheet colouring and crumpled lines give a timeworn impression reminiscent of a keepsake that lives in the garden, drawn out time and again for the enduring ritual of storytelling. 

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