It’s hard to remember a time before IKEA and Kmart: before instant accessibility to a perfectly polished Airbnb aesthetic, and before furniture became as fast as fashion. Never has it been easier to purchase an on-trend item, for a fraction of the price of the original, at the click of a button. These pieces can end up discarded when the next latest-and-greatest piece becomes available, or when the thrill of the retail rush has inevitably fizzled.

For the artists involved in This Is Not Memphis, this disposable attitude towards our most-used daily fixtures is the antithesis of their craft. The six leading furniture makers – Adam Markowitz, Bern Chandley, Bryan Cush, Damien Wright, Daniel Poole and Laura McCusker – have come together to remind us of the importance of supporting considered craftsmanship in this exhibition at Melbourne’s Craft Victoria. Operating since the 1970s, Craft Victoria has long championed independent designers and makers across all disciplines.

Motivated by environmental and philosophical concerns, the artists behind This Is Not Memphis work with purpose and intention. ‘Our work is about an authenticity that can be tested by the metrics of skill, discipline, time, process, ingenuity, virtuosity and beauty,’ they explain. ‘It demands a connection between the head, the heart, the hand, and the land.’

This Is Not Memphis
April 28th-May 26th
Craft Victoria 
Watson Place
Melbourne,Victoria