Adjust/Adapt

By Susan Mansfield, 07.04.2021

Adjust / Adapt. Composition I Spring. Image courtesy Gabriela Silveira.

We’ve all had to do a lot of adjusting and adapting in the last year, and the same is true of our homes. Not only have we all spent much more time in them, they have had to become our places of work and education as well. It has caused many of us to think more deeply about the things we have around us.

This showcase by 25 members of the Scottish Furniture Makers Association - to mark the organisation’s 20th anniversary - was meant to happen at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre. Making the shift to an online show is challenging, perhaps particularly for furniture, but the organisers have approached it as creatively as possible, photographing and filming groups of objects in curated 'still lives' in the atmospheric surroundings of Leith Theatre. The furniture is complemented by art from Visual Art Scotland members.

Each 'still life' contains a range of styles, from Kirsty MacDonald’s wall-mounted Lunar Horizon Desk to Jonathan Rose’s Soft Kist, from Duke Christie’s ripple-fronted Speyside Cabinet, to Alice Holttum’s striking wooden-framed sofa. Elegant minimalism rubs shoulders with more traditional pieces, like Eoghann Menzies’ beautiful Mairidh Side Cabinet named for the Gaelic word 'to endure'.

While wood predominates, with an emphasis on sustainable or locally sourced woods, there are occasional forays into other materials such as Nicholas Denney’s Polychromatic Concrete Table. Desks are much in evidence, from Simon Whatley’s Skewed Writers Desk to Rob Elliot’s delightfully curved Flow Desk and Chair, to Janie Morris’ Love Desk, made for two people to work, face to face.

Further creativity is expressed in textures and patterns, from Mike Whittall’s Eastern-inspired desk frontage to Janie Morris’s collaged formica, Daniel Lacy’s carved ripples to Stephen Finch’s woven strips. It’s an important showcase of the design and making skills we have in Scotland, and a reminder of the difference having beautiful, well-made things can make to our lives.

Adjust / Adapt is online until 24th April.