The Cultural Chair by designer Seung Han Lee may look like your average handicraft seat but it also incorporates within itself a strong message relating how easily recycling can be merged with the modern lifestyle. According to the designer, the chair is a symbol of the cultural difference between the east and the west and uses two of the most important symbols in the respective cultures to create a symbol of human civilization itself, i.e., the chair. Created using materials found at home, the chair only required a few finishing touches in a wood shop to be perfected.
To create the extraordinary chair, the designer first soaked a whole bunch of newspapers in his bathtub for a week to get the ink to diffuse out of it. The pulp was then removed from the water, drained and crushed by blender. This crushed mixture was then left to dry. The designer then prepared rice glue and added different hues to it. This glue was then added to the dried newspaper pulp and little balls of pulp were formed. These balls, all of individual colors, were then pressed into an ‘h’ shape, covered with cling wrap and left to treat. Once dried, the separate pieces were affixed together via wooden pipes and secured with wooden end caps. The multi-colored chair may not look like it would be very safe to sit on but Lee illustrated its sturdiness by sitting on it for a photoshoot!
Via: Inhabitat
