yii design: moon rabbit by hsiao ying lin

‘moon rabbit’ cup

taiwanese designer hsia-ying lin has worked together with craft artisan jun-ching tang on ‘moon rabbit’ cup and plate. made from black clay, these tableware pieces interpret the famous chinese fairytale of the rabbit on the moon, commemorated every autumn in taiwan during  the moon festival celebrations. lin and tang have designed a cup in which the rabbit sips the water within along the lip of the vessel; and a plate where a rabbit is found sitting on its edge, its stretched ‘reflection’ becoming the dish itself.

‘moon rabbit’ cup and plate are a result of ‘yii’, an initiative of the taiwan craft research institute, whose aim is to encourage the taiwanese people to cultivate an appreciation of the country’s traditional crafts. it seeks to ignite exchanges between contemporary taiwanese designers and local craft artists on projects which relate to these traditional production practices. dutch designer gijs bakker was invited to be the creative director of ‘yii’. under his direction, these newest works focus on the revival of the increasingly extinct taiwanese craft in contemporary design, exploring methods of bamboo work, ceramic, fine silver works, lacquerware, wood carving and other ancient craft processes,teaming up taiwanese designers with local craftsmen.

detail of rabbit which sticks its head out along the edge of the cup

‘moon rabbit’ plate

detail of the rabbit

detail of the rabbit installation of ‘moon rabbit’ cups image © designboom

installation view image © designboom

‘moon rabbit’ cups and plates image © designboom

an exhibition of ‘yii’ projects were on show at the triennale museum, milan during design week 2010.