WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT CHAIRS

I wasn't expecting to spend so long looking at chairs.

Not iconic designer chairs. Not even antiques. Just ordinary, everyday chairs. The sort you might scroll past on Facebook Marketplace, inherit from a relative or leave outside your house with a handwritten "FREE" sign attached.

But that's exactly why The Final Bid, the remarkable new exhibition by internationally renowned artist Michael Pinsky at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), works so brilliantly.

It takes one of the most familiar objects in our homes and quietly transforms it into something extraordinary.

The first thing you notice is the sheer spectacle. Seventy-two chairs hang suspended from the ceiling, scattered across the gallery like they're frozen in time. Every one is different. Some are elegant, some are battered, some have clearly lived long and interesting lives. Together they create an installation that's impossible to stop looking at.

Then something moves.

A chair slowly begins to rise through the air.

Moments later another follows, before a third gently shifts position overhead.

It takes a second to realise what's happening. These aren't random movements. Every chair is responding in real time to live bids being placed by visitors, either inside the gallery or online. The higher the bid, the higher the chair climbs.

It's mesmerising.

The entire room feels alive, constantly changing as people place value on objects that, only weeks ago, might have been sitting unused in a loft, garage or spare bedroom.

It sounds wonderfully simple, but watching these everyday possessions float upwards somehow becomes a fascinating visualisation of desire, demand and the strange emotional relationships we have with the things we own.

Pinsky has effectively turned an online auction into a kinetic work of art.

Without making a fuss he asks some rather uncomfortable questions. Why are we so obsessed with buying new things? Why do perfectly good possessions become disposable the moment something shinier comes along? What if the most valuable objects in our homes aren't the newest ones, but the ones carrying the richest stories?

That's where The Final Bid becomes so much more than an exhibition about furniture.

Every single chair has a history.

One of my favourites (above) belongs to Craig, who rescued a stack of abandoned skateboard decks while holidaying in Wales before combining them with broken chair frames he'd found at work. During a difficult period for his mental health, building these colourful upcycled chairs became a source of purpose and comfort. What could easily have become landfill instead became something both practical and deeply personal.

Nearby sits a wonderfully worn 1950s barber's chair (above) from an Erdington barbershop. For decades it witnessed haircuts, conversations and everyday life before becoming the backdrop to something even more special.

After closing time, the family who cleaned the shop would stay behind to sweep the floors, sing together and dance between the mirrors. Long after the business itself has disappeared, those memories remain embedded within the chair.

Then there's arguably the exhibition's emotional centrepiece: Chair of War and History (above).

At first glance it looks almost unassuming, but spend a few minutes reading its story and it becomes impossible to walk away unaffected. Its owner, Polly, inherited the chair from her mother in 2006, although its story stretches back much further. In April 1918, her grandfather bought a second-hand 10-piece dining suite for his newlywed home while still recovering from injuries sustained during the First World War.

Years later, crushing poverty forced the family to burn almost the entire dining set simply to keep warm. Only this single chair survived, along with the original receipt showing it cost £10.

This isn't simply a chair. It's survived two world wars, economic hardship, countless house moves and more than a century of family life. It's an object that has witnessed love, loss, resilience and survival without ever saying a word.

Polly explains that it had spent years sitting in her loft – too precious to throw away but impossible to use in her own home. The Final Bid finally gave her the perfect opportunity to let somebody else become part of its story.

It's difficult not to find something rather beautiful about that. Because that's what this exhibition ultimately celebrates.

Not consumerism.

Not ownership.

Connection.

Every chair here has been generously donated by somebody somewhere in Britain. Every one carries memories that would otherwise remain invisible. By lifting them into a gallery space, Pinsky asks us to look beyond function and instead see them almost as portraits of the people who've lived alongside them.

It's astonishing how quickly you stop seeing furniture and start seeing lives.

The exhibition also cleverly plays with the way galleries themselves create value. Place an old kitchen chair on a pavement and few people glance twice. Suspend exactly the same chair inside a contemporary art gallery and suddenly we're studying every scratch, every repair and every worn corner.

Nothing about the chair has changed. Only the way we choose to look at it.

There's another lovely twist waiting at the end of the exhibition. When the auction closes, successful bidders won't simply collect their purchase. They'll meet the original owner, hear their story and personally receive the chair, allowing these ordinary objects to pass from one life to another instead of disappearing into landfill. Donors can either choose to receive the proceeds directly or donate them to MAC, supporting the venue as a registered charity.

For an exhibition centred around second-hand furniture, it's remarkably moving.

Michael Pinsky has built an international reputation creating installations that tackle climate change, urban living and environmental issues, but The Final Bid never feels preachy or worthy. Instead of telling us to consume less, it simply encourages us to think differently.

Perhaps the chair in your spare room has another chapter left.

Perhaps the old table gathering dust in your garage isn't finished yet.

Perhaps every object around us carries more value than we realise.

You'll almost certainly leave looking at chairs differently. In fact, you'll probably leave looking at everything differently.

Because The Final Bid isn't really about furniture at all. It's about memory. It's about people. It's about history. And it's a gentle reminder that the things we throw away often have the most remarkable stories still left to tell.

The Final Bid exhibition is on at MAC now and runs until October 4. There's a series of accompanying events including a Q&A with Michael Pinsky, a weekend course where you can upcycle your own chair, The Final Bid: Life Drawing Evening and a Live Auction Finale.