cheng tsung feng weaves rice straws to build an inhabitable 'tea nest' in taiwan

in miaoli, taiwan, artist cheng tsung feng has taken inspiration from a traditional tea set to create his latest installation, ‘tea nest’. the artwork is based on cha shou(茶壽), a heat preserving tea set for teapots, which is made with rice straws and stuffed with cotton fabric. originating from the wenshui area of miaoli, these containers were very important to the hakka people, as farmers would take a rest and have pots of warm tea after they finished their work in the afternoon.

all images © yu cheng shen

weaving with rice straws, cheng tsung feng has made the installation as big as a house for welcoming people inside. based on the notions of a teapot nest – lasting and warming – this artwork invites people to come inside and sit around, as if they were bathing in a huge cup of hot tea. with the smell of rice, visitors are brought back to the agricultural society of taiwan in the 1970s. 

cheng tsung feng is a young taiwanese artist. described as an old soul, he is fascinated by exploring the wisdom condensed out of time hidden in traditional utensils. he is reluctant to let go of these intangible assets along with traditional utensils. thus, he inherits them by design and learns to create utensils from their tradition.

project info:

project name: tea nest

artist: cheng tsung feng

year: 2019

location: dawa, miaoli, taiwan

size: large 400(l)x400(w)x263(h)cm, small 170(l)x170(w)x100(h)cm

materials: rice straw, cotton yarn, japanese cedar

organizer: hakka affairs council

implementer: international culture and tourism bureau, miaoli county

co-organizer: miaoli county dahu township office, dawo cultural ecological association

curator: wata art marketing

manager: jolin lin

project designer: xin jun liu

wooden structure: yumu manufacture & research

partners: yu cheng shen, shi jiun wang

photography: yu cheng shen

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom