12/07/2023
As requested - text from noticeboard at 185 Chairs. Sorry I couldn't get the images that accompanied the text to copy over.
185 Empty Chairs
a temporary art installation reflecting on the loss of lives, livelihood and living in our city following the earthquake of 22nd February 2011
The concept of The Empty Chair depicting the loss of someone has been used repeatedly across time and culture.
When artist (Samuel) Luke Fildes (1844 - 1927) learned of the death of Charles Dickens for whom he had illustrated a book, he drew “The Empty Chair, Gads Hill - Ninth of June 1870” showing Dickens’ empty desk and chair.
It was inspiration to Vincent Van Gogh when in November 1888 he portrayed the differences between his temperament and approach to art and life, and that of fellow artist Gauguin in two separate paintings.
More recently, public memorials have made use of empty chairs to embody loss of lives, as in Bryant Park where the lawn was lined with 2,753 empty chairs facing south toward the fallen towers ahead of the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks - one to honour each person who died in the attacks.
Similarly, the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma bombing are remembered at an Outdoor Symbolic Memorial, with their names etched on chairs constructed of bronze and glass.
In Krakow, Poland, a memorial to the Jews of the Jewish ghetto was inaugurated on 8 December 2005 and included 33 steel and cast iron chairs (1.4m high) in the town square and 37 smaller chairs (1.2m high) standing on the edge of the square and at tram stops.
Here, 185 chairs of all shapes and sizes symbolize those who lost their lives as a result of the Canterbury earthquake on 22 February 2011.
The individuality of each chair pays tribute to the uniqueness of each person represented.
You are welcome to spend time in this space.
