Summary
The title of this 1985 work employs the kind of wordplay that has delighted Richard Wentworth throughout his career: Siege refers not only to the notion of being under attack, but also to the French word for seat (siège). Two wood laminate and chromed steel chairs are tightly stacked, one on top of the other. As is typical of Wentworth's raw materials, the chairs are common, easily available objects. In a 1997 interview, Wentworth remarked: 'I think those chairs are pretty extraordinary. They are in a funny cultural space - they know about Modernism. They give the lie to that "truth to materials" nonsense - the steel is plated, the seat and back are laminated. Faux-'60s comes of age…It is funny seeing the chairs in a photograph because they suddenly look rather classic, but actually they were bought in Kentish Town for £4.25 a knock… (read more)
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