THEIR MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT (2018)
Harewood House Yorkshire
Their Most Obedient Servant was two-part installation that celebrated and interrogated Harewood’s Chippendale collection. Geraldine was asked to consider the relationship between a finished piece of Chippendale furniture and its original material, wood. She understood that “…the materials from which they are made can be forgotten or not realised what the source of these masterpieces actually is - very simply a tree.”
Root and Branch was set in the Terrace Gallery, and laid bare the connection between the grandest finished piece of furniture and the natural energy and material of its living source material; wood.
Family Tree occupied the centre of the Courtyard (the 18th century stables) and was an opportunity for Geraldine to re-imagine a previous installation to connect with Chippendale, his family, his craft, and imaginings: Thomas Chippendale, inspired by his love of wood, dreaming of his own family tree.
“Their Most Obedient servant…“ was the term used by Thomas Chippendale at the end of his introduction to his ground-breaking furniture design catalogue, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director, which helped establish his business and international reputation.
Jane Marriott, the Director of Harewood House Trust said “Geraldine’s work brought a totally fresh perspective to the way our audiences see and think about our Chippendale collection and these two wonderful installations are definitely capturing their imagination.”
Their Most Obedient Servant was two-part installation that celebrated and interrogated Harewood’s Chippendale collection. Geraldine was asked to consider the relationship between a finished piece of Chippendale furniture and its original material, wood. She understood that “…the materials from which they are made can be forgotten or not realised what the source of these masterpieces actually is - very simply a tree.”
Root and Branch was set in the Terrace Gallery, and laid bare the connection between the grandest finished piece of furniture and the natural energy and material of its living source material; wood.
Family Tree occupied the centre of the Courtyard (the 18th century stables) and was an opportunity for Geraldine to re-imagine a previous installation to connect with Chippendale, his family, his craft, and imaginings: Thomas Chippendale, inspired by his love of wood, dreaming of his own family tree.
“Their Most Obedient servant…“ was the term used by Thomas Chippendale at the end of his introduction to his ground-breaking furniture design catalogue, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director, which helped establish his business and international reputation.
Jane Marriott, the Director of Harewood House Trust said “Geraldine’s work brought a totally fresh perspective to the way our audiences see and think about our Chippendale collection and these two wonderful installations are definitely capturing their imagination.”
