Neil's Studio Photography

STREET SOFAS
An Optimistic Entropy of Cushioned Furnishings

The Sofa. 

Settee… Couch… Lounger... Futon… 

Whatever you may call it, this item of furniture is so often associated with comfort, luxury, rest and repose. Of home. An inviting pillowed pew, beckoning you to carelessly collapse into its waiting embrace. An object of pride, perhaps of status, a companion for years, eventually molding itself to the contours of its masters. Filled with feathers or foam, clothed in cotton or leather, this steadfast attendant will selflessly serve and support until it has no more to give. 

And then what? 

This book is a photographic study of sofas that have completed their normative life cycles as lounge-room recliners, and for whatever reason, have found themselves ejected or evicted to a far harsher environment, in a slow, hopeless battle with the elements, leading to the inevitable fraying, tearing, and gnarling that will eventually bring about the sofa's demise.

But between the Beginning of the End and The End, one may happen across optimistic scenes where the sofa may be seen to have been reborn, its duty redefined, still providing benefit, use and value to human or other patrons, a message of recovery and recycling on an unescapable journey to oblivion. 

So, within these images we may discover a sad story of passing but along with that, we may witness bright moments of renaissance, hope and even joy. The End, as is the case for all of us, awaits; but until it arrives, it is the appreciation, the awareness and the being that make up the very essence of life. 

Sit back and enjoy…