Caulk Chairs by Matthew Dasneves

WORDS Cheri Morris

Designed by Cape Town-based architect Matthew Dasneves, the Caulk Chairs collection is a series of seats made from polystyrene and caulked rubber sealant that celebrate spontaneity and the human touch.

Steering away from the principles of predefined design and lunging towards uninhibitedness, Matthew seeks to honour the age-old practice of hand-crafted design with this collection.

Each chair is made by hand to serve as functional art pieces. At their core, the chairs are made from polystyrene offcuts sourced from a local factory. The polystyrene is either purposefully carved or thoughtfully arranged in their original forms.

A caulking gun is then used to lay beads of rubber sealant – traditionally used on construction sites – onto the polystyrene. Each stroke of the sealant is visible to the naked eye, affording decorative texture that at once strengthens the forms enough to function and lends narrative to the artist’s process.

Follow Matthew on Instagram (@matthew.dasneves) to see what else he is up to.