naihan li models architectural landmarks into furniture at gallery ALL

naihan li models architectural landmarks into furniture at gallery ALL

naihan li: I am a monument
gallery ALL, beijing
on now until december 26th, 2014

having started her career as a collaborator of ai weiwei, naihan li continues to explore her artistic passions through design, developing furniture collections which simultaneously entertain form and function. the beijing-based creative recognizes that as a society, we desire to possess impressive objects within our homes — tracing these aspirations back to traditional chinese paintings which play with the idea of scale from a subjective point of view, and minimizing the universe — through her work.

edinburg palm house re-imagined as a planter and vegetable garden for the home

li delves into these notions with ‘I am a monument’, which sees her selecting key international architectural landmarks such as the pentagon in washington D.C., and the UN building in new york, and decreasing them by 100 times so that they can serve as utilitarian furniture pieces; thus fulfilling this lust for lavishness and high-status, and affording collectors to bring something ‘monumental’ into the domestic landscapes.

detail of the ‘edinburgh palm house’

the ‘edinburgh palm house’ sees li downsizing the royal botanic garden conservatory in edinburgh into a wooden framework that fits within one’s home, and can be used as a means of planting and growing plants and vegetables. the hydrological garden design is derived from the story of the queen of ireland planting palm trees during the cold winter months, providing greenery in any interior without the need of soil or sunshine.

‘NY stock exchange shrine’

born out of the ancient chinese tradition which involves worshiping the god of wealth in the house, the ‘NY stock exchange shrine’ brings forth a sculptural work that refers to the place where wealth is generated. it opens up to reveal a small buddha so that one may continue this practice of devotion.

from one side, the shrine depicts the symbolic façade of the NY stock exchange

detail of the wood carved shrine

the shrine opens up to reveal a buddha so that one may continue worship to the god of wealth within their home

‘broached east armillary sphere’ whisky bar comissioned by broached commissions

specially developed for australian gallery broached commissions, the ‘broached east armillary sphere’ whisky bar is li’s transformation of the ancient spherical astrological instrument after which it is named, into an object of entertainment. the brass graphic detailing that surrounds the service area, as well as the pattern on the ice-bucket has been created by studio U-P.

historically an armillary sphere was used to measure the positions of various elements in our celestial world

detail of the bar’s service

the base features small hidden drawers

‘the pentagon daybed’

‘the pentagon’ is the ultimate symbol of the united state’s military security. li takes this american landmark and twists its emblematic representation of defense and authority, by envisioning the headquarters as a place of rest and relaxation in the form of a daybed — the safest in the world at that.

profile view of the headquarters of the united states department of defense as a daybed

‘UN building bookcase’

sourcing a joke that the united nations and print books share one similarity: they are out dated, li constructs a bookcase which stands tall taking on the architecture of the UN headquarters in new york.

‘UN building bookcase’