Create Modern Art

For hundreds of years, dry rice straw has traditionally been used as  roofing material, wall insulation, and as a fuel source. More recently, dry rice straw has inspired artists to create modern art projects.  The following art pieces, two types of stools,  have appeared in international exhibitions which could also be used in our homes:

                                              photo credit: designboom.com

‘the remains after the harvesting season on the farms are large bundles of rice straw. it used to be my favourite playground. rice straw is something very familiar to koreans – even if you don’t reside on a farm. (…) I made a bundle and wrapped them with belts that are normally used to stabilize boxes or furniture etc. then I cut the top off to make it into a stool. I call this ‘zip’ because rice straw is called ‘zip’ in korean, which also sounds like  the english word… the rice straw is literally zipped (compressed) into a bundle.’ – kwangho lee 2010  

           photo credit: designboom.com

‘Straw Stool’ by Gina Hsu and Nagaaki Shaw
Gina Hsu and Nagaaki Shaw of Tawainese firm DHH studio have created ‘straw stool’. the chair looks at employing the qualities of rice, grain and straw as a medium for the jenju village community initiative, which aims to preserve the village’s rural culture surrounding the rice paddy industry. The seating reflects the material exploration with strong textural characteristics of the natural components celebrated in the piece. As the natural substance does not have much durability on its own, it is combined with epoxy resin to improve its strength.