The Body by Kirsi Enkovaara encourages a person to find their choice of sitting by discarding learned cultural norms.
Trusting in their touch, movement and the feelings that arise in reaction to these in order to create the most comfortable way of sitting. The structure of The Body is made from canvas and rice allowing it to be formed into reconfigurable rigid structures.
The project started from an interest in emphasizing the psychology of sitting. When we are sitting or laying down we are less aware of our surroundings and in a more relaxed state. This is why the construction of the seat needed to reflect the qualities of human touch, the tactility and safety of which provides us with great comfort.
The structure is made from a single 6 meters long rice filled piece of fabric. The nature of the structure combined with the behavior of the rice makes it possible to bend into various different configurations and forms. ‘I find the beauty of this product being when the simple form turns into various complicated configurations as a result of human interaction’. It is the friction created by the rice combined with the fabric that enables the structure to become extremely rigid when bent but at the same time embody the comforting features of a cushion.
Rice is a renewable and very accessible material. As in Japan thru history it has been used in pillows offering a more ecological and ergonomic option to foam.
