Materiality and Memory: Elissa Lee, Interior and Environmental Design.

Eva Milne

Our second instalment of our artists profile turns to Interior and Environmental Design, spotlighting Ellissa Lee's project 'Re-collection'.

‘Re-collection’ is a furniture collection inspired by the idiosyncrasies within a series of inherited objects. Showcasing themes of materiality, re-use and memory, ‘Re-collection’ draws upon ideas of inherited objects outliving disposable cultures.

Elissa Lee with her Creations (Image: Alex Stewart)

The outcome is a series of furniture that explores the physical qualities and hidden stories within our unique possessions. Transcriptions of memories are engraved onto each leather seat. Marquetry, crafted with the mahogany from an antique headboard, tells a story of personalisation and detail.

The legs of an old sewing table were transformed into dowels supporting each seat and the table’s mechanism is repurposed from an existing metamorphic table, still bearing the rust from its previous life.

These idiosyncrasies are an abstraction and celebration of the intricate relationships between humans and our cherished objects.

Image: Alex Stewart

TJJ: "Can you tell us a bit about your work?"

Elissa Lee: 'Yeah, so I used a lot of reclaimed materials in my final pieces. I did a lot of sort of abstract sculpture throughout the process to kind of realise forms and materials. I was inspired by a series of object biographies; so I interviewed people about their cherished objects and found out what was significant about them".

TJJ: "Do you have any influences, artists or otherwise?"

Elissa Lee: "I'm quite influenced by Cornelia Parker, who is a British contemporary artists who does a lot of stuff on deconstructing domestic objects and sculpturing. And I was also quite inspired by a Belgian studio called Fabrika, and they did an exhibition called Object Préféré, where they looked at people's cherished objects and abstracted that into an exhibition".

TJJ: "What do you want people to take away from your work?"

Elissa Lee: "I think the main takeaway would be sort of looking into materiality and trying to make things last. So I used old parts of furniture, making it into new; so a lot about sustainability and the importance of reuse and upcycling".

"And also just the connection between humans and their objects; how design itself is people based. Its so important to think about human to human connection as well as human to object connection".

Elissa's work showcases the importance and creativity which accompanies reuse and upcycling. You can check out some more of her work via @el.designing on Instagram.