In January 1982 Jasper submitted the application form to study furniture design at the Royal College of Art in London. Sculpture was his second choice of study. He applied for a three-year degree. Following an interview, he was accepted. As part of the application Jasper wrote a ‘proposed scheme of study’, which made reference to the pieces he had recently designed at Kingston. His draft proposal ran as follows:
In 1982 Jasper took a series of photographs of his hat with a couple of telephone directories.
My aim in designing furniture is to use visually simple components put together in a way that minimises complicated fixings whilst achieving a maximum visual content for the materials used. Ornate decoration is replaced by expression of concept and use of colour and materials.
Possibilities of unusual, cheaper materials are explored (concrete, with its wide range of finishes and the ease with which it can be produced is one, scrap foam with its strange shapes is another). The possibilities of employing objects not usually associated with furniture (bicycle handlebars) which provide an element of surprise to the onlooker.
Colour plays an important part in the design from the start and helps to express the concept and achieve a balance between the components which allows visual simplicity. I have found the method of stencilling gouache invaluable as a quick method of testing several different colour schemes on a piece of furniture.
The basis of each design is a concept which, simple or complex, must be expressed subtly. The sideboard is the most complicated conceptual design and has evolved to solve the concept. The design should be suitable for small batch production and the simpler the design the more likely it is to be suitable for larger batches. The handlebar table was made in less than an hour at a materials cost of £15. The less labour intensive the better.
I would also like to explore alternative methods of selling/displaying furniture to the public. It seems to me that British furniture showrooms are more like mortuaries in that the furniture is lined up in rows with little white tables attached and so little room between them that they are impossible to envisage in the isolation of a room setting. The public are bound to see the buying of a new sofa as a chore better put off until next year.
My scheme, then, would be essentially one of experimentation and development of ideas, hopefully resulting in an increased ability to design cleaner and more wonderful and desirable furniture.