The fashion for fusion furniture

• Source: Global Times
• [10:26 July 21 2010]
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A piece from Danful’s Fake Chair series. Photo: Courtesy of Contrast Gallery

Perhaps Danful's most influential work is a series known as Fake Chair. The series now features 20 pieces and was started in 2007. The back – and two armrests – of the chair are a combination of both Chinese and European antique styles. The cushions of the chairs are covered with fragments of fabric cut from high-end luxury bags such as Gucci, LV and Chanel. Except that all of the "original" bags are, in fact, fakes, readily available at any number of Shanghai markets.

"Even foreigners buy these low-priced fakes," she said. "And the way this industry thrives shows how the power of brands is controlling the spending habits of this generation of consumers."

This September Danful will leave the gallery to study Design Production at Kingston University in the UK. Through the sale of her Fake Chair pieces to US and European buyers she has probably enjoyed more critical and commercial success than most of her fellow students, yet she still refuses to see herself as an artist. "Art works are usually very expensive or are bought simply to keep in private homes or spaces. But I feel that art-furniture is capable of expressing both worthy ideas and at the same time has a lot of practical worth."