THE WORLD IN CONVEX AND CONCAVE

Text by Irene Translation by Leo

THE WORLD IN CONVEX AND CONCAVE

Text by Irene Translation by Leo

Concave and Convex (“凹凸” in Chinese or“Automax”) are two cultural symbols in the Yin-Yang Theory of ancien China that complement each other. Now they have new interpretations in the world of modern design.

凹凸场AUTOMAX-Space

At the 2015 Frankfurt International Furniture Fair (Tokyo) held last November, there was a unique exhibition stand, named “Automax Space”, with an array of ingenious design items constructed with pairs of concave and convex components, each being a stand-alone table (called Automax-table). These Automax components come in five colours - white, green, black, red and yellow (referring to the metal, wood, water, fire and earth, respectively, in the Five Elements) - and in different pairings, horizontally forming tables, stands or racks, or vertically-forming cabinets, shelves or columns. These fl exible and multi-functional structures are truly ingenious modern designs inspired by traditional Chinese culture and philosophy.

“Automax Space” is part of exhibition planner and designer Sunny Chen's bigger creative plan,“Automax”. Interestingly, Chen's original inspiration for the design ideas came from the changes in his wife's bellybutton during her pregnancy, which sank in and popped out alternately. “I wanted to design a pair of wedding rings with my own hands to mark our marriage and the arrival of a new life,”said Chen. The wedding rings, named “Automax-Rings”, are made of jade and gold and can be buckled up when not being worn. The pair makes up a whole that implies a good match.

In ancient Chinese philosophy, Concave and Convex are used to explain everything in heaven and on earth. They represent Yin and Yang respectively, two opposite but complementary principles that regulate the functioning of the cosmos.

“AUTOMAX-Tower”, Chen's latest creation, is made from the bamboo of Anji, a county famously known as the “hometown of bamboo trees” in East China's Zhejiang province. The designer tries to explore the internal space of bamboo tubes through their linear surface. To echo the idea of Automax, he used processed bamboo rather than raw bamboo material to construct the tower, which represents the complementary efforts of man and Nature. Concave/Convex embodies a philosophical interpretation of the relationship between opposites such as up/down, after/before, shallow/deep, high/low and inside/outside. So it is more than just an idea or design. It is also a work method and a philosophy of life. It reaches beyond architecture.

“Through Automax, I come to understand the birth, growth and change of life; the mortise and tenon joint teaches me how fast an intimate relationship can be; and the way that bamboo grows upward from one internode to another lets me see the power of repetition,” said the designer.

Though deeply rooted in profound philosophical concepts, the design idea of Automax does serve many purposes in life. For example, when Chen's studio took a step forward, a dozen cats that he'd adopted faced the prospect of being displaced or separated. “I hoped that I could design and make a home for them, a home that could move with them,” he said. This led to his partnership with paper artist Wu Mingche in designing a series of cat houses using Automax ideas. The cat houses, ranging from a single room to a seperate house, can suit any new home.

凹凸间天地见

“凹凸”这对源于中国阴阳互补的古老文化符号，如今演变成新潮的东方设计语言。

2015年11月，法兰克福国际家具展东京站，有一方颇具哲学意味的凹凸场。凹凸场的基本模块是一对“凹凸几”，各有对应金木水火土五行的白绿黑红黄中华五色，可以任意组合成一对，每对再任意组合成横向的几、台、架和竖向的柜、架、柱，是一个灵活多变，兼具不同使用功能，并根植传统文化的当代设计。

凹凸场是策展人、马达思班创始合伙人陈展辉“凹凸无限”创作计划的一部分。说来有趣，陈展辉对于凹凸的设计灵感，最初来自于太太怀孕时凹凸变化的肚脐。“我当时就想亲自设计一对婚戒，以纪念两人的结合以及新生命的到来。” 凹凸戒由金和玉组合而成，平时不用扣在一起就是一个整体，寓意中国传统的“金玉良缘”。 陈展辉还专门邀请了毕业于巴黎的九零后珠宝设计师赵雨萱合作完成了婚戒的深化设计和监制。

在东方哲学中，凹凸诠释了天与地，在自然的世界里它是阴阳的和而不同。无论宏观的世界还是微观的时空，无处不存在凹凸的和谐。

凹凸几AUTOMAX-Table

凹凸窝AUTOMAX-Cat House

“凹凸无极塔”是陈展辉最新的创作，这次他选择了安吉永裕竹材，回应了竹的里和外，从竹的线性外表剖析它的内在空间。在设计师心中，凹凸诠释了上下、前后、深浅、高低、里外的哲学关系。凹凸不只是个想法，也不只是个设计，凹凸是从建筑到建筑之外的关系，也是一种工作方法和处世哲学。

“我从凹凸读懂生命的孕育、生长、变化，从建筑榫卯的结构看到紧密的牢固，从山水的波澜相依领略阴阳变化、周游六虚，从竹的节节攀升看到重复的力量。”设计师言。

深邃的哲学本源，并不妨碍设计为生活服务的宗旨。2015年，设计师与纸艺专家吴明澈合作，为猫咪设计出可爬可抓，环保可回收的凹凸窝组合，从单间到复式，从联排到独栋，适合任何新家的组合。真是生活无处不凹凸。凹凸就是人生。