Mi Chair (身)

What lies beneath the body becomes what holds it.

In Mandarin and Japanese, Mi (身) refers to both the physical body and the abstract sense of self. With dimensions that are fit to my body’s proportions and formal elements that resemble it, this chair is me.

Borrowing the visual and structural language of the vertebrae and pelvis, Mi Chair turns the body’s internal architecture outward. Forms normally concealed beneath the skin become the chair’s supporting structure, allowing the skeleton to envelop and hold the external body.

Rather than prescribing a single, conventional way of sitting, the chair invites the body to negotiate its own relationship with the object—through movement, rotation, leaning, and rest. Its three graduated back elements reference the rhythm of the spine while curving and extending outward to create multiple points of contact and support.

Hand-built in ash, Mi Chair emphasizes the relationship between anatomy and material. The strength and visible grain of the wood give physical presence to the skeletal forms, while each component is shaped and finished by hand, preserving the subtle irregularities of the making process. The result is both functional furniture and an exploration of the boundary between interior and exterior, body and object, structure and skin.

Dimensions: 18.1" W × 21.5" D × 31.9" H
Materials: Ash Wood