The Martlet sits down with UVic’s resident ‘chartists’ for inside perspective on their mysterious work
Photo courtesy of @uvic.chairs on Instagram.
Over the past several weeks, a public art phenomenon has taken place in the UVic quad. The orange and white plastic chairs that are normally found on the campus green space have instead been mysteriously arranged into towering structures.
Now, on an unofficial instagram page, @uvic.chairs, a collective of local artists — or “chartists,” as they like to be known — have claimed responsibility for the impromptu campus sculptures.
While they take credit for the public sculptures made in the past couple weeks, the chartists clarified that they were not the originators of the first chair sculpture on campus. The original chair sculpture –– a tall mass of inverted chairs, stacked on top of the black tabletops –– appeared on the quad on the morning of Oct. 3.
“We weren’t the first people to do it. We’re not responsible for every chair structure that happens,” said one of the chartists. “We kept it going because we thought it was cool.”
“I saw the chair sculpture that morning, and later that evening, when my friends and I were out, I suggested that we build one of our own because it seemed like a fun, creative activity…. After that, I guess I just wanted to keep doing it, because it was fun and I liked making sculptures for people to see on their way to class.”
In comparison to the first credited chair structure, the structures created by the chartists are more inventive, displaying both poise and balance, thoughtful colour coordination, and a distinct concept each time. Instagram posts collected thus far include titles for their works such as “The Crimson Chunnel,” “The Holy Chair,” and “Welcome to the (Chair) Jungle.”
While other chair structures have appeared at the Maclaurin ziggurat and other areas of campus, the chartists do not take credit for those. They also said they have not placed any chairs or tables in the Petch fountain.
“We try to keep the chairs in a place that, although it may be a bit of a hassle to take down, [they’re] still in the area. We’re not taking them to inconvenient locations that will be arduous to bring back. We also try to keep the chairs out of the walking paths,” the chartists said.
Photo courtesy of @uvic.chairs on Instagram.
The structures combine engineering and visual art. One member of the chartists also describes the practice as “extracurricular physics studies,” noting the centre of mass of the chairs, and how that must be taken into consideration when executing their unique positioning.
The chartists told the Martlet each work of chart takes about 45 minutes to complete, but time can vary depending on design and how many chairs they accidentally knock over during construction.
“Half the fun of it is that ordinary objects create another level of liminalist sort of feeling,” one chartist said.
The serial sculptures have been a topic of discussion on the UVic Reddit forum, r/uvic. One user commented on the group as if they’re renegade artists –– “Instead of Banksy it’s Chairsy.” Another user described the sculptures as “living art.”
“Architecture has peaked. There’s nowhere to go from here but down,” said another user, to which another user corrected them by saying “Architechair.”
“There’s two branches of chair arrangement: there’s chart and there’s chair humour,” said one chartist.
“We’ve been focusing on chart, which is making sculptures. Generally, we’ve been trying to step things up with each iteration in terms of complexity.”
The chartists say their actions have been acknowledged by Campus Security (CSEC), as they have witnessed security vehicles and personnel pass by the sites of their structures. However, CSEC has not formally approached the group.
“If they had a problem with it, they’d just come over and ask us to stop. I don’t think they have a problem with it.
“[We] would like to be clear that we’re not trying to cause any damage or harm. If it becomes a problem and people are upset with it, we’ll stop, or we’ll start marking it easier to take down. If the chairs and tables start breaking down, we’ll stop”
There is, however, an open call for a ladder to help the chartists create more elaborate works of chart. Any community members who have no use for one anymore can send @uvic.chairs a direct message on Instagram.
