Younghyun Lee Reimagines Discarded Furniture Through Resin Interventions
The Youth series preserves aged timber's history while creating new sculptural forms.
1Preserving Material History
Designer Younghyun Lee challenges the conventional furniture makeover by highlighting rather than erasing signs of wear. In his series titled The Youth, discarded chairs and aged timber retain their original darkened wood, uneven colors, and exposed fasteners. The project focuses on giving discarded materials a new visual identity while keeping their history visible.
2Resin as Structural Extension
The intervention involves applying translucent, cloudy resin around existing wooden components to create entirely new forms. This process extends the chair's outlines beyond the original wood, resulting in broader uprights and gently dipping horizontal rails. The resin acts as a secondary shell, making the furniture appear suspended within a larger, frosted version of itself.
3Visual Distance Dynamics
The viewer's experience shifts significantly based on distance. From afar, the chair presents a pale, ghostly silhouette that catches ambient light. Upon closer inspection, the observer discovers the darker, less orderly wooden structure within. This contrast forces a re-examination of the material, moving the object from a functional item to a sculptural piece.
4Legibility of Hardware
Lee intentionally leaves dark fasteners visible along the uprights, which interrupts the pale resin borders. These hardware details prevent the treatment from appearing too precious or decorative. By keeping these connections legible, the designer ensures the viewer recognizes the piece as an actual assembly, grounding the artistic intervention in the reality of construction.
5Sculptural Over Practicality
The series is designed for exhibition rather than practical home use, evidenced by the open seat areas in the photographed works. This absence of a sitting surface disrupts expected utility, inviting the viewer to analyze the chair's shape and construction. It functions as a sculpture, removing the need to evaluate the object for comfort.
6Defining The Youth
The project title, The Youth, refers to finding new possibilities for aged objects rather than reversing time. The wood does not become young again; instead, its surroundings change the way we pay attention to it. The scratches and faded marks remain on display, serving as a testament to the object's previous life and memories.
7Exhibition Context at KiNN
Presented as part of the solo exhibition The Nuance at KiNN in Seoul, the series benefits from a gallery setting. Installation photographs show how the pale resin interacts with the brightness of the surrounding room, while the timber maintains a dark, grounded presence. This environment highlights the ghostly, ethereal quality of the resin-encased chairs.
8Material Relationship Shift
Lee successfully avoids treating old wood as anonymous raw material by allowing original components to remain recognizable. While reclaimed wood is part of the narrative, the project succeeds by creating a compelling relationship between the new resin shell and the battered chair. It turns perceived flaws into details that demand sustained visual attention.