Places to sit: telling stories
They are everywhere - benches, chairs, couches, stools - key elements shaping the character and experience of a place. With each image here I've added the story of how I encountered the object.
L won a 2 night package at a luxury hotel of our choice at a fund raising auction. We chose the most expensive one we could find - the Hotel Ranga in south Iceland. ISL 2019
View behind the Hotel of the Ranga River. The East Ranga is one of the most productive Atlantic salmon rivers in the world ISL 2019
Hotel Ranga was constructed in 1999 with cedar imported from New Brunswick. ISL 2019
L and I travelled southeast from Reykjavik as far as Heimaey Island on the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off of Iceland's south coast. The south bears the most powerful winds felt across the country. This bench is tucked into a dug out area. Icelanders use local materials such as volcanic rock to build retaining walls, seawalls and flood walls. ISL 2019
The Venice Biennale draws L and me to the city. In the Palazzo Fortuny (Museum), among the permanent exhibit spaces is the Winter Garden. A mural across 3 walls depicts an enchanted garden, painted by Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo between 1915 and 1940. 2024
On our way to a Biennale installation on Giudecca island, we passed this walled garden. Venice 2024
The photo mural in the Nevodi restaurant (nephews in the Venetian dialect) depicts the family that has run it for several years. The photographer who produced the mural is unidentified. Venice 2024
Outside a restaurant in Venice. 2024
The bench sits permanently in the Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Venice. The black back can seem like an opening to another space. 2022
S invited L and me to Telluride for the jazz festival. It's a laid-back town with about 2600 full-time residents. In 2025, 21 festivals are planned for a nine month period. CO 2024
In the outdoor seating area of a coffee shop on Telluride's main street, the mural depicts a photograph by Diane Arbus called "A Jewish giant at home with his parents in the Bronx, NY, 1970". The artist who painted the mural is unidentified. CO 2024
L and I travelled with B and D to Tanglewood and Jacob's Pillow in The Berkshires. I spotted this collectables shop along the highway between Lee and Lenox. On seeing the image, S remarked "makes me want to wear a poodle skirt (after having taken my hair out of rollers) and sip on a Coke in a glass bottle with a striped paper straw". Along with the bench, what caught my eye was the shrub behind it; reminded me of Elvis and crew cuts. MASS 2024
In Tanglewood, L listened to a rehearsal while I toured the grounds. MASS 2024
Weather and circumstances permitting, a lovely group of friends hikes in Gatineau Park. QC 2024
L and I have lived along the Ottawa River for 25 years. 2023
I spent 10 days with E in Puerta Vallarta. Each morning on our walk down to the city centre, we passed by a house with this couch on the side veranda. The day I took the photo, the light had caught the floral pattern on the couch, made the blue stand out. When I showed the image to J, he said it reminded him of his first home in Lebanon. MX 2022
Visiting Chicago, S, L and I stayed in a condo tower with a dog walking area on an upper floor. ILL 2023
In the entry way of the Hummingbird chocolate shop, my favourite. Almonte, ON 2022
T and I went hiking in the Yorkshire Dales. Livestock rearing, mostly sheep, is the mainstay of the economy. There are over 600,000 sheep in the Dales, 30 times more than people. The UK has the most breeds of sheep in the world. EN 2023