SAS0111_001

2017-2019

Height: 41.5
Length: 209
Depth: 29.5

Tulipwood, walnut, cast brass

• Indoors
• Floor-based
• Freestanding

Commissioned by Design Exhibition Scotland and exhibited at DES 2019. Supported by the VACMA awards Glasgow. The brass elements, The Universal Holding Device, were made on residency at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in 2017.

In ‘A Bench for The Universal Holding Device’ Kate Morgan explores ideas of functionality, gesture, and the decorative. Integral to the bench is Morgan’s ‘Universal Holding Device’. Comprising two baton-like brass bars which can either sit in the aperture at the centre of the bench or be placed one at each end where they become functioning handles. The handles - brass was once the go-to material for furniture handles and door knobs - both signpost and invite potential sitters to engage in the physical act of picking up the bench and positioning where they wish. The work sets two paradoxical positions against one another; the tactile closeness of holding and handling an object, and the absurdity, in this context, of the necessity of a handle in the first place.

Can be used. Wipe dust away with dry velvet cloth or soft chamois leather (will supply). Brass handles can be cleaned periodically (would need to take them away to do this).

Kate Morgan