Never a Bore with Baas in town

Product design

First seen in Milan this year as prototypes and exhibited recently in London, the Chankley Bore, the quirky fantasy-full pieces by Maarten Baas has now been put into limited edition production by Established and Sons.

By Katie Dominy / 22-10-2008

Elements of science fiction and mystical sea creatures are evoked, reminiscent of aliens drawn by comic book illustrators of the 50s.

On show at the LIMITED Gallery located in St James, the heart of London’s fine art world, Chankley Bore is the result of Maarten Baas’ Limited Edition work with Established & Sons. It is a collection of six pieces in editions of 12 that are one half fantasy and one half utility; they can be used as cabinets.

The title, Chankley Bore, refers to a line from The Jumblies, a poem by English Victorian artist and writer Edward Lear, famous for his nonsense poems. ‘Their heads are green, and their hands are blue’ we read in the poem, which chimes nicely with the comical appearance of Baas’ works in tones of grey or black accented with red, orange and cobalt blue.

Baas says ‘I started to think that there was more to this than just a chair with four legs. If you look at nature, for instance at an underwater documentary, the fish have really bright colours. And then something sticks out of it, and there's something blinking… And then there's science fiction, or comics about outer space where things happen that you cannot imagine.’

Baas continues ‘These pieces are ones I really wanted to make, and if Established & Sons hadn’t made it for me, I would have made them myself. But fortunately they said I could do what I wanted and they really liked it. For me it was really the next step after my other collections, Smoke, Clay, Sculpt.’

Shown as prototypes at Salone del Mobile in Milan in April, these finished pieces are handmade in the UK by one of Established & Sons’ craftsmen and combine materials from rubber, stone and resins to brightly coloured wool felt. Electronics are also involved in one of the pieces – the Dalek-style creature with five intermittently blinking lights.

For Baas, ‘The Chankley Bore is a fantasy collection, playing with the unknown. There are so many possibilities, but somehow we seem to limit ourselves to a safe, recognisable area. I think often beauty is related to what we already imagined in the mind, as if you already have the template, and search for things which fit in it. What happens if this isn’t the case? If you don’t relate things to what you already know? It’s an experiment with materials and shapes.’

He concludes ‘In the end there’s nothing to understand. It’s just the Chankley Bore.’

Mid October is un-officially Art Week in London, centred around the tents of Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park, where The Chankley Bore also forms part of the VIP Room, curated by Established & Sons.

Chankley Bore will be on show at the LIMITED Gallery until mid January 2009