PIANO THRONES
2010 - 2015
A Piano Throne is a sculpture made from all the parts of one upright piano. It is first deconstructed, then reassembled to make a large chair. No parts are wasted, even the sawdust is collected to be used in glue and filler. Some thrones incorporate architectural details, for instance suggesting scale models of a theatre or a church. This is a long-term project. All the thrones are works in progress and find themselves currently in storage in Zurich. Each one will be 3 meters in height on completion and weigh the same as the original piano.
Above
Piano Thrones and related objects displayed at Kindelbrauerei in Berlin in 2010, including performances and a "live deconstruction".
Below
Project beginnings at Gallery Wallywoods in the Kulturhaus Weissensee, Berlin. The pieces evolved out of the Broken Pianos Orchestra (first picture).
The Neukölln Piano Throne
The throne below was built in two days during the 48 Hours Neukölln expo (48 Stunden Neukölln) of 2010 in Berlin. It wasn't completely finished, but enough to sit upon, which was the aim. The remaining pieces were kept for addition at a later date. (Thanks to Maik, Stefan and everyone else who lent a hand.)
Relocation to Zurich
When I moved to Switzerland in 2011 I took the Piano Thrones. I worked further on three of them before they went into storage.
The Flying Guillotine Piano Throne
It's not built to be used as a guillotine, although it will function when it's finished. I will post something on the matter later on concerning my manifesto and the theory that a condemned person deserves the right to choose their method of execution according to internationally agreed rules and standards, of which there are currently none at all. On completion I would like this one displayed in a huge glass tank filled with formaldehyde. But it is still unfinished. The body and parts are stored in Zurich, along with the components for three further Thrones. To continue work I need a ground floor workspace, min 3.5 meters high, and some funding would be helpful.
(In this picture the blade itself is photo-montage, as construction hasn't reached that stage.)
Photo: Wolfgang Burjack / Montage: PP