Memoirs of an Armchair unfolds as a series of staged photographic encounters in which a series of armchairs becomes both backdrop and protagonist. The works emerged through a process of experimentation while Zarb was engaged in other projects.
Across these works, female sitters occupy this domestic object in shifting states, from semi-dressed and masked to nude or holding a large book, each posture negotiating intimacy, control, and display. Masks, along with Zarb’s bravura in camera manipulation, obscure identity, while gestures and poses heighten the tension between presence and concealment, between the intimacy of a private moment and the assertion of power over the viewer.
Historically, the armchair has functioned as a symbol of authority, seen in thrones and ecclesiastical seats, as well as of status, repose, and private leisure. Here, it is reimagined both as a silent observer, absorbing the imprints of each body that inhabits it, and as a kind of podium for the sitter. At times, Zarb employs it playfully, positioning the body in ways that challenge the chair’s conventional use.
In 3 of the works, we see a recurring motif. Seated figures hold oversized books that conceal their faces while exposing the body, particularly the legs, introducing a play between intellect and eroticism, visibility and withdrawal. The act of reading becomes theatrical, even ironic: knowledge shields identity while the body remains on display. These works mark the beginning of a larger, ongoing series.
Through these accumulated “memoirs,” constructed through encounters with armchairs and the manipulation of light, Zarb creates an archive of gestures, narratives, and possible intrigues.
๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ opens April 10th and is curated by Melanie Erixon.