chiho cheon lacquers corrugated cardboard to create furniture with pleats

korean designer chiho cheon has created a line of furniture using corrugated cardboard and concrete that explores the notion of homelessness. extending the ‘critieria‘ line, a series of pieces in dark hues including black, grey and deep green elements, cheon adds chairs, tables, and other sculpture objects, in vibrant shades of red, lavender, and egg blue.

the collection proposes a literal criteria in the way people see homelessness. with it, the designer explores what he calls the ‘one-dimensional difference’ between homeless people and those who have a home.

‘I came up with the concept when I saw the homeless people at seoul station in south korea,’ says cheon. ‘they were living in a box and I thought: what is the one-dimensional difference between the homeless and the ordinary people?’

cheon argues how people experience the same social phenomenon by different standards and attempts to express this phenomenon through contrasting materials. he lacquers corrugated cardboard and cement to produce his new collection, producing rough textures and primitive shapes that serve as a basic canvas to assess the homelessness boundary.

‘the people who live within cement walls are considered ordinary people, and the people who live outside are homeless. the cement walls are the criteria for the ordinary.’

‘but to the homeless, people who live in the box are homeless and people who walk out of cardboard boxes are the ordinary people for homeless people.’

concrete is heavy, sturdy and conveys permanence while cardboard is light, flimsy and disposable. the dichotomy of both materials further emphasizes the designer’s concept for his ‘criteria’.

‘people see the same social phenomenon by different standards. I wanted to propose a new standard for using materials, using corrugated cardboard and cement to present this phenomenon.’

project info

project name: criteria
designer: chiho cheon