A CHAIR FOR VAASA COURT OF APPEALSVaasa Finland 2003

King of Sweden founded the Vaasa Court of Appeals in 1776 and donated it a presidential chair. After Finland became Grand Duchery of Russia in 1809, the Russian Czar donated another chair to the Court. I organized a nationwide design competition to find a new chair that would symbolize contemporary Finland, an independent democratic republic since 1917.

In contrast to the chairs donated by despots, the new chair was to be chosen by a democratic selection process. I therefore composed a jury of local laymen representing different experiences of living in Finland today. Members included a senior citizen, businessman, long-term unemployed, single mother, and two immigrants. Five best chairs were manufactured and the winning chair was donated to the Court, together with the two group portraits of the jury. The selection process was documented on video and each jury member was photographed with his/her favorite chair.

One half of the competition jury was photographed with Czar’s chair in the front and his portrait in the background. The other half of the jury was photographed with the Swedish chair and the portrait of the King.

JURY SESSIONS, 14 - 15 April 2003

Portrait series of the jury members with their favorite chair

Installation view Ostrobothnia Museum, Vaasa