Artist Babak Ganjei spent a lot of time watching TV sitcoms when he was a kid. He liked the canned laughter which kept him company but it’s the film sets and the furniture which seem to have made a lasting impression, judging by his series of paintings “Some Places I Have Lived” which caught our attention here at Film and Furniture.

We were keen to meet the man behind these art works which tick many Film and Furniture boxes. “I find the space in these famous TV film sets soothing” he tells us, “especially when you inhabit relatively small spaces yourself. I spent much of my teenage years in these very rooms”.

The furniture and set decoration in these sets are all strangely familiar – some we recognise instantly, some we need to work at a little but that’s what makes the game so interesting and instantly nostalgic.

These sofas, chairs, rugs and other signifiers become as important as the characters and Babak, like us, found himself often drawn to the story played out by these inanimate objects, as much as those by the characters. They remain like haunting echo’s etched on the mind.

Test yourself my matching the sitcom with the pictures above and below:
Frasier
Seinfeld
Friends
Only Fools And Horses
Twin Peaks
The Simpsons
(Also in the series not featured here: Father Ted, Alan Partridge, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Wayne’s World)

So where can I buy one?

You will soon be able to buy these original 40 x 50cm oil-on-paper paintings from Broth Art, but in the meantime email Kim from Broth Art for details ([email protected]) or buy a set of 10 postcards for £8 from Babak’s own website.

Just as we were finishing our fascinating chat, Babak happened to show us some other film based art – these fabulous paintings of cinemas featured in films. They will soon be on display at Screen on the Green, Islington.