‘I guess, being an architect, I have always been in the functional design world, but my journey, specifically into furniture making, was an act of desperation, to be honest.’ says artist Matthew Dasneves when asked about where this journey in art began. ‘I was not able to fully realise my own creative interests as an architect, so, frustrated by the daily grind, I needed to find another creative outlet, one that would give me the time and space to explore different sorts of ideas. In the same breath, the very thing I struggled to come to terms with also became the grounding for my furniture work; much of my inspiration comes from my work as an architect and the hours spent on construction sites. The motivation comes from being able to explore ideas, the fact that you can create something from seemingly nothing. Things start in your head and slowly reveal themselves through the making process.’
Matthew says ‘As an artist, I always try to approach the making process following the same steps. Firstly, I look to make things myself as I find there is a lot of creative potential and knowledge that gets lost when you hand over the manufacturing to someone else. Secondly, I always focus on having a strong sense of materiality expressed through an as-simple-as-possible manufacturing process. That was what I really enjoyed most about the exhibition itself - the wide open brief allowed me to work on ideas that aligned with their own interests.’
‘My pieces in the exhibition are part of an ongoing series that explores the caulking process. Most people might be familiar with this: it is the rubber sealant used around fittings in the bathroom and the home. I am constantly fascinated by the creative potential in seemingly ordinary processes. For me, the interest in using the caulking process and rubber as a material came from the idea of exploring what could happen if I took a process and material traditionally used in the building industry and turned that into something desirable.’ he mentions.
‘To that end, the pieces are made from offcut polystyrene that is then carved and assembled into functional forms and a caulking gun is then used to lay beads of rubber sealant onto the polystyrene. The caulked sealant is both functional and decorative as, structurally, it creates a resistant, flexible coating for the polystyrene, transforming the objects into durable furniture. The act of caulking the sealant adds a decorative dimension, which creates a richly textured surface pattern. Every movement of the caulk gun is made visible like brushstrokes as an artist in a painting.’ explains Matthew.
