Finnegan Shannon

Do you want us here or not

A series of benches for museum spaces.

Do you want us here or not

A blue bench with hand-painted text that reads, “This exhibition has asked me to stand for too long. Sit if you agree.”
A blue bench that reads, “I’d rather be sitting. Sit if you agree.”

Year: 2018
Materials: MDO, paint
Dimensions: 72"L x 26"W x 36"H

Designed in consultation with Charles Mathis and Chat Travieso, fabrication by Charles Mathis.

 
Two chairs with custom blue cushions. Both cushions have white hand-written text. One reads, “There aren’t enough places to sit around here. Sit if you agree.” The other has text in Estonian of a similar length.
Similar chairs and cushions flanking a table with copies of a broadsheet titled “Notes for the Waiting Room.” One cushion has Russian text, the other Estonian.
Three similar chairs and cushions line up against a wall. Here the text is not legible because of the angle. The adjacent wall is filled with posters by Jesse Darling featuring Blissymbolics.
Another set of three chairs, arranged in a slight arc. One has Russian text, one has Estonian, and one has English. The English text reads, “I focus better seated. Sit if you agree.”
Three cushions fitted to a built-in bench. There is a mix of languages here too. The English-language cushion reads, “It was hard to get here. Rest if you agree.”

Year: 2019
Materials: Heat transfer print, fabric, foam, ribbon
Dimensions: Variable

Commissioned for Disarming Language, curated by Christine Sun Kim and Niels Van Tomme.

Photos by Karel Koplimets.

 
A bright blue bench with white, hand-lettered text that reads, “It was hard to get here. Rest here if you agree.”
A matching bench that reads, "Museum visits are hard on my body. Rest here if you agree." It's positioned at a slight angle, facing a wall of the gallery.

Year: 2020
Materials: Baltic birch, poplar wood, plastic laminate
Dimensions: 73.5"L x 27"W x 35.5"H

Commissioned for Lone Proponent of Wall-to-Wall Carpet at Carleton University Art Gallery. Fabrication by Walter Zanetti, Anthony Dewar, Paul Durocher, School of Industrial Design, and Brant Lucuik, School of Architecture, of Carleton University.

Photos by Justin Wonnacott.