185 empty chairs

Envisaged as a short-term installation made from chairs painted white, it became a major tourist attraction in Christchurch, New Zealand.

[1] On the day of the earthquake's first memorial, local artist Peter Majendie arranged 185 empty chairs that he had painted white on the site of the demolished Oxford Terrace Baptist Church.

[4] Majendie's main inspiration for the installation came from paintings by Vincent van Gogh of empty chairs, representing their owners' different personalities.

[8] In January 2017, Majendie firmed up on the idea and proposed to turn the temporary installation into a permanent one by casting chairs in aluminium and having them powder-coated white.

[7][12] In 2017 the American travel website TripAdvisor listed 185 empty chairs as the city's top landmark attraction (ahead of the Christchurch Gondola and the Cardboard Cathedral), and put it in fourth place across New Zealand.

185 Empty Chairs at its second site at St Paul's Church, Christchurch, to where it moved in October 2012
Vincent's Chair with his Pipe