Two women sitting on opposite ends of a seesaw in front of a sign that reads 'the DESIGN MUSEUM'. The woman on the left has curly blonde hair, glasses, and a black outfit. The woman on the right has long blonde hair, and is also dressed in black, mid-air on the seesaw.

ANTIFURNITURE

A reimagining of furniture for performance artist Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich

Artist: Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich
Architect: BoND Architects (New York)
Budget: £50k
Completed: 2023

Photography: George Junior Piskov, Dmitriy Markin, Olga Kotylevskaya, Ilya Pusenkoff

Website: www.fyodorpavlovandreevich.com

ANTIFURNITURE is a series of performative sculptures designed to invite visitor engagement and participation but subvert the conventional uses of furniture and challenge our understanding of comfort.

Created by performance artist Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich, with BoND Architects, these objects are transformed into sculptures by visitor interaction.

As you temporarily inhabit these sculptures by sitting, climbing, dangling, rocking, and lying, you are invited to reflect upon and confront your fears.

Each sculpture represents one or more phobias, and through physical discomfort and purposeful endurance, we are forced to face our fears and challenged to overcome them.

A woman with curly red hair, sitting on a wooden bench, smiling joyfully and touching her hair, at an indoor event with a crowd of people standing and listening, some holding drinks, and a man with gray hair wearing a brown leather jacket in the foreground
A man with gray hair and a dark suit is bending under a large wooden table at an indoor event, with other people conversing and standing in the background.
Person bending over inside a wooden geometric structure at an indoor event with people standing and walking around in the background.

The pieces were exhibited at the Design Museum in October 2023 and are now on international tour.

A group of four individuals, three clothed and one unclothed, stacked on a wooden chair in an indoor/outdoor setting. The top person, a man dressed in black and khaki, is sitting with a wooden plank on his shoulder. The person beneath him, a shirtless man, is supporting the person above by holding his ankles. The third individual, a woman smiling, is sitting on the bottom step, holding onto the bare feet of the shirtless man. In the background, several people are seen walking and talking in a busy, well-lit environment.
A man sitting on a piece of furniture, holding a wooden plank against his shoulder, with a person below holding his foot and a third person underneath supporting him.
A woman in a black satin dress and jacket climbing over a black barrier with circular cutouts in a crowded indoor space, likely at an event or gallery.
People gathered around an artistic wooden structure with two curved platforms, one on top of the other, in an indoor event space.
A person in black clothing climbing a wooden ladder that is upside down, with a woman hanging upside down, in front of a crowd outside the Design Museum.
A woman peeking out from a large wooden, barrel-shaped enclosure, smiling, while a man with dreadlocks leans over, touching the barrel. Several people are in line in the background in an indoor setting.
Three people on a wooden ladder, two are fully clothed and one is unclothed, performing a balancing act outside by a window with trees and a bicycle in the background.
A woman sitting on a wooden chair inside a cafe, with her legs crossed, and a person standing in front of her, placing their foot on the woman's head.
A man with long blonde hair, wearing a gray checkered blazer, gray pants, white sneakers, is leaning over a wooden desk with a black headphone, appearing to be asleep or resting his head on the desk, in a crowded indoor event space with many people standing and talking in the background.
Two women sitting at museum desks, laughing and smiling.

“The pieces are supposed to make you question the relationship between liminal space and your body. They’re supposed to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Architect Noam Dvir.

A man leaning over a wooden chair as a woman sits upside down in it at an art exhibition, with a group of people observing in the background.
Two men standing side by side in front of a sign that reads 'LITTLE DESIGN'. The man on the left is wearing a black suit and has short dark hair, and the man on the right is wearing a blue jacket with black and yellow details and has short dark hair and a mustache.

The pieces were codesigned between Sao Paulo, New York and London and realised in Sao Paulo in Brazilian Cherry by oficina são joão.

An art installation featuring a sculpture of a naked person sitting on a wooden staircase, with a group of people observing and discussing the artwork at an outdoor exhibition.
Man in striped shirt and glasses sitting on a wooden seesaw outside a modern building with glass windows, with a group of people waiting nearby.
People forming a human tower with wooden chairs during an outdoor event, with a woman holding a baby sitting at the base, and a man taking a photo.
A man with no shirt holds a large wooden cross in front of his face, with a circular hole aligning with his face, outdoors with green foliage and a fence in the background.