cheng tsung feng weaves rice straws to build an inhabitable ‘tea nest’ in taiwan
in miaoli, taiwan, artist cheng tsung feng has taken inspiration from a traditional tea set to create his latest installation, ‘tea nest’. the artwork is based on cha shou(茶壽), a heat preserving tea set for teapots, which is made with rice straws and stuffed with cotton fabric. originating from the wenshui area of miaoli, these containers were very important to the hakka people, as farmers would take a rest and have pots of warm tea after they finished their work in the afternoon.
all images © yu cheng shen
weaving with rice straws, cheng tsung feng has made the installation as big as a house for welcoming people inside. based on the notions of a teapot nest – lasting and warming – this artwork invites people to come inside and sit around, as if they were bathing in a huge cup of hot tea. with the smell of rice, visitors are brought back to the agricultural society of taiwan in the 1970s.
cheng tsung feng is a young taiwanese artist. described as an old soul, he is fascinated by exploring the wisdom condensed out of time hidden in traditional utensils. he is reluctant to let go of these intangible assets along with traditional utensils. thus, he inherits them by design and learns to create utensils from their tradition.
project info:
project name: tea nest
artist: cheng tsung feng
year: 2019
location: dawa, miaoli, taiwan
size: large 400(l)x400(w)x263(h)cm, small 170(l)x170(w)x100(h)cm
materials: rice straw, cotton yarn, japanese cedar
organizer: hakka affairs council
implementer: international culture and tourism bureau, miaoli county
co-organizer: miaoli county dahu township office, dawo cultural ecological association
curator: wata art marketing
manager: jolin lin
project designer: xin jun liu
wooden structure: yumu manufacture & research
partners: yu cheng shen, shi jiun wang
photography: yu cheng shen
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: lynne myers | designboom
