Gallery: A Crazy Crystal Chair Grown Just Like Rock Candy
"Photos by" Tokujin Yoshioka01spider-08
Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka's Spider's Thread chair is manufactured the same way a confectioner produces rock candy.
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He encases objects in crystal husks by submerging them in a supersaturated mineral bath for long periods and allowing a process called crystal nucleation to take place.
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His latest work is even more adventurous, relying on a substrate of just seven silk threads that sketch the ghostly outline of a chair within a metal frame.
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The frame was submerged in a tank of minerals and over a period of months the crystals coalesced, transforming limp threads into a structure that can stand on its own.
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"In the process of crystallized project, I came up with the idea of creating a structure with threads," says Yoshioka. "I chose a form of chair because, as a structural creation, a chair is such a symbolic form all over the world."
Photo: Tokujin Yoshioka06spider-10
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The sculpture has no bearing weight and even if it could support a person, its surface is closer to that of a porcupine than plush club chair.
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"Through the creation collaborated with nature, I go through a variety of experiments such as finding the unimaginable beauty or facing the unexpected mistakes over and over again during creation," says Yoshioka.
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With the work obscured in a foggy bath of minerals, Yoshioka must rely on his faith in chemistry and trust his own skills that the crystals are forming and that given time, they will yield an object of immense beauty.
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The Spider's Thread chair is on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.
