Stalker Chest of Drawers

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The stalker is that piece of furniture that one can't ignore.
He stares into one's soul, reflecting facets of the viewer's self. He is the alter ego with many secret drawers, hidden behind a vertical dark texture. Initially created as a mystery chest of drawers, the stalker also has four prismatic mirrors (corner reflectors) which reflect the viewer's eyes from every point one is standing. This piece of furniture creates a visual and philosophical dialogue with anyone who interacts with it.

Dimensions & Packaging

400 mm X 400 mm X 1700 mm

Tags

stalker, reflection, mirror, hidden drawer, corner reflector

Production Technology

beechwood, ash wood, plywood, mirror, galvanized steel, tinned steel

Design Challenge

The most difficult challenge was designing, positioning and aligning the corner reflector within the chest of drawers followed by finding a way of making a symmetrical frame so that drawer fronts were possible to be placed on all sides. Great debate was generated along the final height of the piece, as it is meant to be a mirror image of an unknown person. Many finishing recipes were tested, and in order to make a proper evaluation, the samples had to be made with the same texture as the finished piece.

Project Duration

The project started in 2020 and was finished in 2021 in Timisoara, Romania

Operation Flow

The stalker is a piece of furniture that can be positioned in the center of a room, so he can be approached from any side.

Research

The nominated piece of furniture is at the border between art and furniture design. We believe that such a present piece of furniture as a chest of drawers must have a very personal touch, being a mirror of our personalities and representing us.
The construction is made out of solid wood.
The wooden frame contains eleven non-identical drawers, which are unevenly distributed on all four sides of the piece of furniture.
All the drawers have different rights and fit in the whole depth of the structure. They are made using plywood, on which we applied a texture of wooden vertical wands which continue the general vertical pattern, subtly integrating the enclosures within the design. It is the tinned steel handles that indicate the position of the drawers.
The whole process was an experiment, as the project developed organically, the piece being built manually from the construction level to its last detail. There were also details that had to be changed along the way. The piece of furniture respects the three registers corresponding with the human body: head-body-legs. The legs were an experiment. Being made out of vertical welded steel they didn't support the wooden structure well. That is why they had to be bent.
We believe in the idea of makers, that by building manually a piece of furniture one can also create a piece of art. By working manually, the design decisions are more assumed at a detail level.
The general concept, the structure, and all the details including the finishings are also a controlled result of more tries.
The stalker remains a piece of furniture at the border between art and furniture design.

Inspiration

One of the things the Covid-19 Pandemic did to us was to make us reflect upon ourselves. The stalker is a vessel for our alter ego, constantly and obsessive looking back. As the mirror image must have a soul, Items, memory anchors of our past self are kept in its drawers, concealed behind a vertical dark texture. This piece of furniture creates a visual and philosophical dialogue with anyone who interacts with it.
The stalker represents our alter ego, and is inspired by a person who discovers the partner's secrets, relating to the other person almost as to himself, as a mirror image, however keeping mysterious drawers.

Image Credits

Image 1-5: photographer: Diana Bilec, The Stalker, 2022.

Colors of Stalker Chest of Drawers