muah: lee lin upcycles boxes into versatile furniture objects

 

In an exploration of object circulation and the relationship between humans and nature, Lee Lin’s ‘Muah’ furniture series gives new value to the mundane and ever-present object of a box. The project stems from the designer’s observation of warehouses boxes — objects that play an integral yet understated role in our everyday lives, from containing our daily necessities to shipping orders all across the world. Though when they fall into disuse, they may be recycled and repurposed, or discarded and returned to the soil from which they initially emerged. Intervening this cycle, ‘Muah’ questions the essential properties and relations of the boxes by repurposing and stacking them into versatile compositions and giving them new life as decor objects, chairs, or tables.

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
all images courtesy of Lee Lin

 

 

instilling new meaning and value into mundane objects

 

‘Muah’ fuses and utilizes both brand new boxes that have never been used, and waste boxes that have reached the end of their life cycles. Lee Lin cuts both to remove unusable parts, stacks them into a block shape, then coats them with a thick layer of paint and completely dried. The process is repeated several times until a naturally-emerging result of a pattern of coincidence – not intention – is conceived. The final products are marked with breathing holes that circulate air throughout and prevent the material from rotting.

 

The project’s title derives from a Buddhist term that refers to the absence of an unchanging substance in all things of the world. Lee Lin ‘erased the existing feelings’ in the material to invite audiences and users of the furniture objects to experience them in their own unique ways. Without a fixed frame, each block has the expandability to transform into a chair, bench, table, stool, or any other object according to the user’s individual needs. Further, depending on the light and environment of the place where it will be placed, its surface may appear like ceramics or plastic or, occasionally, like a cascading waterfall or a calmly swaying lake.

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
‘Muah’ disrupts the life cycle of a box and questions its inherent properties and relations

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
the boxes are a composition of old and brand new boxes

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
each block has the expandability to transform into bench, stool, or any other object according to the user’s needs

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
the boxes’ unusable parts are removed and they are stacked and coated with thick paint

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
Lee Lin gives new value to mundane objects

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
depending on the light and environment, the surface may appear like ceramics or plastic

'muah' furniture series by lee lin disrupts the life cycle of a box
the furniture series stems from the designer’s observation of warehouses boxes

 

 

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project info:

 

name: Muah
designer: Lee Lin

 

 

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: ravail khan | designboom