NaiHan Li

Corpse Lily Vase

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Previously shown at Basel 2022.

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Description/

The Corpse Lily, the largest known flower in the world, famous for its bizarre life cycle, has never failed to attract fascination. Had it been known by the ancient Chinese, it most certainly would have made its way into their mythological stories. In the “100% All-Natural” series, the traditional Chinese motive of turning organic forms into household objects has been brought to a contemporary setting. Here, Naihan Li has turned the unique flower into a table lamp, where the body is laser 3D-printed, and a large range of lacquer-making techniques are utilized, from gold leaf plating to lacquer dusting to create a new design art object with a Chinese spirit.

Materials: Carbon Fiber, Chinese Lacquer.

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.