Chair – Ode to Richard Ernst Artschwager/mimicry is the highest form of flattery

. Variable. Minimum 2000mm(h) x 1000mm(w) x 1000mm(d)

. Marble

. 2024

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”

– Oscar Wilde.

This piece reflects on the lasting impact of Wooller’s childhood experiences of uncertainty and fear, exploring how domestic space can hold onto emotional memory and become a conduit for the uncanny. Whether because of their more active imaginations, stages of psychological development or increased sensitivity to a ’spaces’ energy, children often have a heightened sense of the paranormal.

The eponymous ‘chair’ references a story her mother used to tell her about the basement of Wooller’s stepfather’s house, which compounded Wooller’s fear of visiting it. “Early on in my mother’s relationship with my step father she visited his house, on hearing noise coming from the basement, she crept down the stairs to see a smoky room with people sitting around playing cards and chatting, in old fashioned, maybe Victorian, clothing. Shocked, she quickly retreated upstairs and asked her new boyfriend what was going on. He was bemused and shocked by the suggestion that people were in his basement, and made her go back and show him… when they went back downstairs there was nothing but a dark, dusty basement with an empty chair.”