Etienne Marc

Department: Contextual Design
Website: www.etiennemarc.fr

Yesterday Did Not Die

What: A range of furniture to investigate our appreciation of antique objects. The revision of classical pieces with contemporary ornamentation contrasts conservative beauty with contemporary scenes considered more banal.

Why: Antique objects appear to have a firmly established sense of beauty, expressing a certain wealth and an idealised past. Replicas, however lack that charm, and are quickly seen as kitsch. What defines the difference?

How: Instead of classic representations, this furniture is adorned with everyday scenes of decay that we normally might ignore, disdain or consider as banal. When aestheticised in this format that refers to the past, they suddenly lose their deceptive character and become a commentary on our contemporary society.

“As a creative plagiarist I try to value the banal by historical theatricalisation”