Finnegan Shannon

Do you want us here or not, 2018–ongoing

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.