if people were chairs: horia manolache imagines humans as variously-styled seats

if people were chairs: horia manolache imagines humans as variously-styled seats
all images © horia manolache

following an assignment to document an upholstery studio and portrait its owner, photographer horia manolache imagined a likeness between humans and the seats they occupy. ‘an idea was born after seeing a white chair with a broken arm. what if this chair would be a women? what age she would have?’ manolache explains.

manolache photographed a series of chairs on a simple black background, allowing for the most essential, recognizable and memorable characteristics to be highlighted. a worn leather office seat, plush floral sofa and red velvet armchair are each distinct in their spirit and style. manolache noted the individual and unique nature of the inanimate objects and imagined human personalities to most closely mimic them. ‘I looked at each print began to write the kind of person they inspired. it was like the creation of a character for a movie, a process that I think I enjoyed most in constructing this series.’

a man with black and brown attire and roller skates reflects this dark wooden chair with wheels

a simply dressed woman wearing a white dress and medical cast mirrors a white leather chair with a broken arm; a man with black and brown attire and roller skates reflects a dark wooden chair with wheels; twins with pink and white flowered shirts represent a two-seat sofa. a narrative develops based on every photograph:  ‘for each chair, I tried to exploit the story that was already there’ manolache explains.

a simply dressed woman wearing a white dress and arm cast

the woman’s image mirrors that of a white leather chair with a broken arm

twins with pink and white flowered shirts

the portrait of the two women mimic that of a two-seat sofa

a man wears a worn leather jacket and boots to reflect the personality of the chair

a used leather office seat is reflected by the portrait of the man above

a woman is dressed in an all-turquoise outfit and black shoes

a vintage sofa seat bears a blue fabric pattern

the woman wears a deep red victorian-style dress

the personality of the red velvet armchair is reflected by the victorian-style woman