NaiHan Li

Annual Honesty Mirror

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Previously shown at Basel 2022.

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Description/

In the traditional Chinese view of the universe, there is nothing that does not already exist in nature. The ripened Annual Honesty seedpods take on a remarkable form at the end of their life cycle. The plant’s common name “Honesty” and its unique form triggered the idea for a set of mirrors, with the mythical shine of silvered backing, framed by a laser 3D printed structure covered in Chinese lacquer and gold leaf. This playful new look for a wall-mounted mirror in this 100% All-Natural series, echoes the Chinese traditional motive of turning organic forms into household objects. Each piece is uniquely made through digital production and 3D printing, with pure silver and gold providing a long-lasting luxury finish, whispering a spirit of the decadent of Chinese object making in a contemporary context.

Materials: Carbon Fiber, Chinese Lacquer, Silvered Mirror.

NaiHan Li

designer

Jingjing Naihan Li is an architect-turned-furniture-designer whose works reflect what she calls “the moody impracticality of globe-trotting.” Li studied design and architecture at London’s Bartlett School of Architecture, and early on in her career collaborated on a design project with the renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Her best-known series, titled “The CRATES,” was inspired by the shipping crates used for transporting artwork and her own experience living in “Beijing’s shifting urban playground where industrial and artist spaces are quickly discovered and soon destroyed,” as she says. The works in “The CRATES” are modular items of everyday furniture—such as bookshelves, beds, and armchairs—that fold up into compact crates for easy transportation. The series was nominated for the 2012 Design of the Year Award by the Design Museum in London. Li has also produced design projects in collaboration with Swarovski and the Gwangju Biennial, among others.