By Udita Chaturvedi
Photography: Courtesy the designer
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| Working with Bamboo |
Traditional
techniques, contemporary designs and modern treatment is the style mantra that
young Taiwanese designer Cheng-Tsung Feng adopts for his innovative bamboo art…
It is the bamboo’s
strength, flexibility and versatility that inspires Cheng-Tsung to give
furniture an all new meaning. Over the years, he has created several
masterpieces in bamboo, particular about hand-crafting it on his own, after
diligent training from old experienced craftsmen.
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| Flow - mimicking nature |
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| The 'Begin' stool |
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| The hexagonal cavity structure |
Keen to explore the
medium in its entirety, Cheng-Tsung exploits the lumber weaving technique and
employs a hexagonal cavity structure for the ‘Begin’ stool, which stands on
pointed legs. Equally elegant is ‘Between’,
an asymmetrical four-sided structure with horizontal lines running through with
little windows. His ‘King’ chair
is a simple armchair that exudes comfort and great aesthetics at the same time,
while he goes organic with ‘Flow’
– the recliner that has a rustic in-the-wild appeal to it, courtesy the almost
haphazard flat strips curving and turning like the roots of a plant. However,
it is the ‘Circle’ that
Cheng-Tsung believes is his best, and also his latest!
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| The Circle - in the making |
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| The Circle mirror |
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| cylindrical structure with a little groove |
Interestingly, ‘Circle’
is a dressing table-cum-hand-held mirror that uses a single piece of bamboo as
a tube to create a smooth circular rim to encase the glass. The designer uses
the ancient technique of heat moulding as he reinterprets the skill from
traditional bamboo tube furniture. The mirror stands on a chic cylindrical
structure with a little groove on top, leaving space to store any small piece
of jewellery. The back of the mirror is covered in perfectly finished silk
pattern, boasting the medium’s rich texture and multi-functionality through a
minimalist design.
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| King chair |
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| King chair |
“Bamboo is a
naturally available medium; it’s a plant with various forms and features. You
can cut it, curve it, bend it and even combine it - the possibilities are
endless,” Cheng-Tsung says about his favourite canvas, adding that he starts
learning from scratch for every new piece of artwork that he creates.
Cheng-Tsung first learnt bamboo skills three years ago in a South Taiwan
countryside town. There, he was so impressed with the versatility of bamboo
products that he wondered why it wasn’t being used in contemporary designs and
modern-day houses. So in his workshop, he introduced some modern elements to
bamboo craft, and created a new range of bamboo products, which break the
barriers of time.
Good one!
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