Shani Holster
Dwellingup, WA
Australian School of Fine Wood
Diploma of Art – Fine Furniture

Peep Show Cabinet

‘This cabinet was made using a variety of materials. The main body of the cabinet is constructed from a pre-veneered MDF board, veneered with crown cut sycamore. The drawers and all edge banding are made from rock maple and the outside panel is 19mm clear acrylic held in place with black anodised aluminium bar.

‘The inspiration for this piece came from the 1940/50s Mutoscopes that showed a picture show of, at that time, scantily dressed women. The user would have to look through a small window while cranking a handle which turned on a light and ran the picture show. The cabinet door panel have small light up windows with Mutoscope cards inside them. Inspiration for this cabinet came also from the then-current modernist art period; in particular from the artist Piet Mondrian and his works Composition in Red, Yellow, and Blue (1930) and Broadway Boogie-Woogie (1942-43).’

Juniper

‘This cabinet is constructed from ply, solid timber and metal. The main body of the cabinet is made from 16mm exterior ply. The drawer cavities and drawers are constructed from Western Australian blackbutt and the legs, drawer handles and cabinet corners are made from American white ash. A very rusty metal panel was used to form the left side of the cabinet and was strengthened using mild steel bracings that had to be rusted after attaching. The bolts used were also customised using sandpaper and a hacksaw so that they would function as I needed them to and so they did not show their brand logo. The rusted metal was found after calling several salvage yards and getting some strange receptions when I explained that I needed a very rusted sheet of steel.

‘I was asked to design a cabinet that reflected and drew inspiration from a painting that is hanging in the Art Gallery of Western Australia as part of the ‘Art in Bloom’ exhibition that is held at the gallery each year. This cabinet was designed to complement a Robert Juniper painting.

‘The colour of the timber and the rusted steel that I used was derived from the colours in the painting. The random placement of the bolts, and the image on top of the cabinet is a representation of a grass-like form within the painting, and the overall ‘L’ shape is a mirror image of a shape that could be seen in the painting. The randomness of the placement of the components is based on the mixed perspective which Juniper often uses within his work.’