"Artefact #1", "Last of the Free Bench", Studio Nick Ross 2019.
Handcarved British "Blaxter" sandstone with tooling decoration, height ca 40 cm, width ca 70 cm.
Wallpaper* award for best design 2020.
Nick Ross's starting point is often linked to how historical ideals shape and reflect our contemporary. With a critical attitude, Ross explores and challenges historical facts to explain our contemporary. In the work of "Last of the Free", Ross has investigated and reflected on Scotland's history and how history was characterized by the influence of Rome. The proverb language is characterized by classical Roman antique remains as well as Caledonian remains that are preserved in Scotland's National Museum. Ross questions why cultures are sacred and why national identities are seen as static and must be protected from external influences? The bench is handcrafted in Edinburgh form Blaxter sandstone which has been quarried in the north of England. This version of the bench has been shown during CHART art fair in Copenhagen 2019, and won a Wallpaper* award for the same year.