Playful “Exploded Chair” Illusion Looks Like a Seat That’s Falling Apart Right Under You

innovative furniture design

Student Joyce Lin is a designer in her final year obtaining a dual degree at RISD and Brown. Majoring in furniture design and biology, her unique mix of talents is clear in her piece, titled Exploded Chair.

Made from maple and acrylic, Lin's design plays on the illusion of a deconstructed chair. By encasing the wood in clear acrylic, it's as though we see through to the skeleton of the work. And while our natural inclination is to believe that the wood is doing the heavy lifting, the clear acrylic case is what gives support.

Thus, the “bones” of the chair are false—an illusion used to capture our imagination. Instead, by placing the maple in a display case, Lin highlights how the pieces interconnect. In this way, she shows us how, if they were joined, they would come together to form a classic chair.

Exploded Chair is really a dissection of materials, and a play on expectation that showcases Lin's innovative thinking toward the art of furniture design.

innovative furniture design

innovative furniture design

innovative furniture design

innovative furniture design

deconstructed furniture design

Lin's sketches and process images show the carefully planning behind her furniture design.

innovative furniture design

maple chair furniture design

maple chair furniture design

Joyce Lin: Website | Instagram | Behance
h/t: [Homecrux]

All images via Joyce Lin.

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book 'Street Art Stories Roma' and most recently contributed to 'Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini'. You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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