A Short Series of Chairs is a performance based on relocating memories and presenting ideas in self portraits as chairs. When reinterpreting the facts and fictions of her past, Francis never fixes meaning to impulsive performance, pre-planned stages or fragments of reality, all of which remain tangible within her work.At first glance the work conveys reality in the way that photography demands as a medium and, upon closer inspection, the secrets contained within the images unfold. Playing with our perceptions, often creating an anxious tension between presence of representation and the absence of reality.


Why chairs for this series of work?

With my performances being impulsive these ideas developed over the course of a day. The core concept I started off with was the idea that
my work normally featured myself but I wanted to create a body of work which was still self portraits but without the presence of the body. I
wanted to use something that was ubiquitous, and the chair became the item. It was easy to manipulate, people understood what chairs are and
for and something I can break apart and make look representative of reality till closer inspected. The chair, an item that holds the
person, holds the self started to become fragile, humourful, and void of its practical nature.
 

How did you decide on the positions of each chair?

The chairs were positioned through impulse, looking at myself inwards, to reform them into sculptures. The performance and play in making
them chairs were highly important. The chairs were positioned within the background that was carefully selected working with the lines, the colours and the placement of the landscapes making the whole narrative which would not be possible if the ideas were merely just a performance or a sculpture.
 

How does the location affect your mindset about each chair?

The location does not affect my mindset, there selected base in being empty spaces to allow me the space to work and play without any interference.