this chair might seem like a medieval torture device from afar, however, it’s just a clever optical illusion created by russian designer ilyas chozhobekov. ‘a chair on which to sit’ is a project that relies on user interaction to understand it. with the design, chozhobekov invites observers to sit on the chair in order to realize that there is in fact no threat. 

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion designboom

all images by anton ivanov

 

 

the structure of the chair is made from birch plywood clad with HDF sheets, and covered with a black stain and varnish. the pyramids, or ‘spikes’, are made of MDF stained in black. the seat is topped with clear epoxy resin and covered with a matte varnish, making the sharpness of the spikes visible to onlookers.

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion designboom

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion designboom

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion designboom

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion designboom

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion

ilyas chozhobekov's 'a chair on which to sit' is a spiky optical illusion

 

 

project info:

 

project name: a chair on which to sit

design: ilyas chozhobekov

photography: anton ivanov

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom