In my work, I investigate relationships between emotions and mass-produced objects. I use my background in furniture design and fine art to alter the experience of our familiar environments. Here, a table is transformed so that imagined sitters are back-to-back. They are simultaneously isolated and in proximity in a humorously awkward manner. It is a direct response to the alienating effects of social media under the guise of synchrony, contact and communication with others.
-- Michael Bietz, Assistant Professor, Foundations