Primitive Structures Side Table #2 by Jongwon Lee

About the Item

Designer Jongwon Lee happened to stumble upon a new material that sparked his interest. PSL (Parallel Strand Lumber) is made of dried and graded wood veneers, strands or flakes that are layered and bonded together with a moisture-resistant adhesive into large blocks. PSL is one of the most eco-friendly options for wood lumber and also one of the strongest. Examining progressive use of sustainable material, “Primitive Structures” feels like an object from an ancient future. The raw, primitive nature of its line, the metallic futuristic color-tone, its a reflection of how looking towards the past, can guide us into the future. ....................... Artist Notes: I had to participate in a furniture upcycling project, so I stopped by an abandoned cafe somewhere in Gyeonggi-do. The cafe was in the middle of being demolished, and after taking a chair, I was watching the demolition. And seeing numerous materials (douglas fir, plywood panels, etc.) used as structural materials for the interior of the cafe break down and put them in burlap sacks, I got a strange feeling, and in the process of observing them, I met Pararam. Attracted by the visual intensity of Pararam, I asked the demolition manager if he was throwing this away, and he was scolded, saying, "Where are you going to use this? You can't even recycle this kind of thing. If you've come to pick up a chair or table, talk to that person over there." was brought on the condition of not asking. From that time until around October of last year, the title of 'writer' that I had acquired while participating in large and small projects was too much for me, and I fell into a work slump and stayed away from creation for a long time. In the midst of this burden, I wanted to create a valuable change in the world as a designer (or as an artist) and to make a new visual proposal that was different from others. again, "Can you make good use of me?" seemed to ask. And Nara reminded me of the reason why I was originally drawn to the story and visual stimulation of the material, and drew the strength to continue creating again. As I started researching the stories and visual stimuli of Pararam, I completely erased myself who had been dominated by the (so-called) writer persona, and focused on my future creative activities centering on the discoverer and researcher temperament I had since childhood. And through this process, we wanted to propose new values to the world. In this process, research on materials was conducted from various angles, and among softwoods (coniferous wood) that Pararam has poor marketability (CHIP OF WOOD and softwood PANEL from the logging process), high-temperature, high-pressure compression process I found out that it is a material that has the agenda of Re:cycle, which is being reborn through . Based on the results obtained through research, I tried to propose an agenda called Re;Recycle by adding Re to Recycle. In particular, I tried to suggest the beginning of an approach to the method of utilizing discarded wooden structures as objects through Pararam. I thought it would be nothing more than a lot of greenwashing products on the market if it simply ended with a proposal. I thought that this could be prevented through continuous use and distribution, and to make this possible, I thought that I should not overlook the part about the finish that must be made essential, and the part that makes me want to trade and own it by inducing new and good visual stimulation. So, I thought about what form and story I should put into the intense primitiveness of the material to satisfy it, and I am developing my work by borrowing the megalithic culture as a morphological motif. Primiitve structures is the first of a series of works in which these concerns are condensed, and is the first work that has not been introduced anywhere yet. As I considered myself as an excavator (ps. It was necessary to define myself through a different way of expression, not as a writer, designer, craftsman, or artisan), many parts that had not been seen before began to appear. With this attitude, in my future works, I would like to propose a new paradigm to the world by not missing the weight of the agenda mentioned above and research on the indispensable part as a visual arts person. thank you

Dimensions:

Height: 22.45 in (57 cm)Width: 16.15 in (41 cm)Depth: 22.84 in (58 cm)Seat Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)

Style:

Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood

Place of Origin:

Korea, Republic of

Period:

2010-

Date of Manufacture:

2023