50 Manga Chairs. Nendo at Milan Design Week 2016, for New York based design gallery Friedman Benda, was located in the courtyard of the Facoltà Teologica dell'Italia Settentrionale, Milan.
A grid of stainless steel chairs inspired by the linework of manga.
"Manga is a means of expression with a high degree of flatness and abstraction, and which is composed of a series of lines. We could say that manga comics are deeply rooted in Japanese culture, since they can be traced back to Ukiyoe prints developed during the Edo period (1603-1868 A.D.).This installation of 50 manga chairs is the result of adapting the strong symbolic nature of manga comics to furniture design.Manga consist of a series of frames on a single sheet of paper that creates a sequence. Similarly, 50 standard chairs are lined up in a grid, each one conjures up a sense of story, and each with a design element from manga. For example, a “speech bubble” or “effect line” are added to visualize sound or action. Or emotional symbols from manga, like “sweat” or “tears”, are formed so that a sense of story and character can be felt.With the abstraction of manga comics in mind, physical aspects such as colour and texture are intentionally avoided as much as possible. Instead, a complete mirror finish is opted for, which generates new spatial layers as the mirror surface reflects the real world, just like manga does."
Collaborator.- nis
With this exhibition, nendo abstracts archetypes of manga comics. The chairs are happy, distressed, embarrassed, surprised; they leap and bound, zoom past, or slowly slink away. A different configuration creates a different story; the chairs come alive in a symphonious display of nendo’s playful Japanese design.
A grid of stainless steel chairs inspired by the linework of manga.
"Manga is a means of expression with a high degree of flatness and abstraction, and which is composed of a series of lines. We could say that manga comics are deeply rooted in Japanese culture, since they can be traced back to Ukiyoe prints developed during the Edo period (1603-1868 A.D.).This installation of 50 manga chairs is the result of adapting the strong symbolic nature of manga comics to furniture design.Manga consist of a series of frames on a single sheet of paper that creates a sequence. Similarly, 50 standard chairs are lined up in a grid, each one conjures up a sense of story, and each with a design element from manga. For example, a “speech bubble” or “effect line” are added to visualize sound or action. Or emotional symbols from manga, like “sweat” or “tears”, are formed so that a sense of story and character can be felt.With the abstraction of manga comics in mind, physical aspects such as colour and texture are intentionally avoided as much as possible. Instead, a complete mirror finish is opted for, which generates new spatial layers as the mirror surface reflects the real world, just like manga does."
Collaborator.- nis
