Cox London - The Voyager's Chair
The (original)
Voyager’s Chair
A unique bronze chair inspired by ocean swells and “Gaudiesque” reflections on nature. Sculpted by the artist and masterfully cast in our London foundry, the highly polished ripples of bronze evoke movement, time and experience.
“The original upholstery was inspired by 19th century “navigation charts” from regions of Oceania and in particular the extraordinary “stick charts” of the Marshall Islands. The charts are not maps as such but devices to represent patterns in the ocean swell, vital reference points for early indigenous voyagers.
Originally from New Zealand and having travelled between London and Auckland for over 30 years, the narratives of time and travel often manifest in my work; the ocean and the illusive horizon a place I would meditate on as a child. For me the early navigators of Oceania embody this emotion and spirit. Their seemingly decorative, yet quite essential stick charts, were a result of a strong need and desire to travel and explore new worlds. To sit in the Voyager’s chair, is perhaps to meditate on broader horizons.”
The Seaweed Voyager’s Chair
“We regularly travel to our 18th century stone house on Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, where we make time to think and create away from the immediate pressures of our London based business. The Jurassic coast is reminiscent of the coastline in Nicola’s native New Zealand and is the reason we have been drawn back to the isle of Purbeck for 20 years.
We frequently beach comb and began collecting and pressing plants and seaweed a year or so ago.
The upholstery for this unique un-matched pair of Voyager’s chairs was directly inspired by our pressings, riffing on the color and shape of real seaweed collected from the Dorset coastline. We collected the best specimens whilst swimming in Summer, noting how they appear in the water next to our two-dimensional pressings. Another reason for us to take better care of our oceans. Once we studied each specimen closely in the sunlight, we were amazed at just how much color was prevalent in the simplest thread of weed.
Using more than 30 different colored threads, attempting to emulate what we saw, myself and one of our makers who specialises in embroidery, sat for days making up these two panels for our upholsterer.
This pair of chairs are part of a continuing personal story, a journey through life, collecting memorabilia along the way and making our mark in the sands of time.”