cometabolism studio’s industrial furniture series explores the public-private boundary

cometabolism studio repurposes objects that are hard to ‘break down’

China-based Cometabolism Studio has created a series of furniture installations that explore the boundary between public and private spaces. Established by designer Zhang Ning and artist Yang Yafei, the studio’s works lie at the intersection of furniture, installation, video, and interactive new media.

According to the duo, the word ‘co-metabolism‘ nods to the processing of objects that are hard to ‘break down’ — giving them a second life in new environments through upcycling, artistic compositions, and much more. They call this process the ‘reuse of (industrial) metabolites‘. 

‘reconciling the streets with the indoors, the industrial with the daily,’

For this project, Cometabolism Studio (see more here) has repurposed industrial products that would have otherwise gone to waste, transforming them into a set of furniture objects for both private and public use. ‘The purpose is to let such objects enter new scenes through unusual design combinations that blur usability. It’s about reconciling the streets with the indoors, the industrial with the daily,’  explains the team

Titled ‘Mixed public-private boundary’, the collection features high-saturation blue and orange tones often used for street signs, warning tapes, and building nets in public spaces. By incorporating these colors, the duo hope hopes to encourage users to ‘notice everyday objects and industrial objects that we ignore in our daily life.’