Coming across an assortment of discarded furniture parts in a junk shop in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Katharina Jaeger felt a strong desire to create something that left room for the thoughts of the viewer. Pracht, a German word which loosely translates as ‘splendour’, leaves its original function far behind, taking on a new and unpredictable life of its own. Curved wooden legs that once suggested elegance and stability now seem ready to take flight – or perhaps pounce. The something – or nothing – lurking invisibly underneath the rumpled cloth promises us little in the way of rest or comfort.

(Absence, May 2023)