While the 40-year-old is known for his wooden concept furniture pieces, in recent years, he has turned to a cornstarch-based bioplastic in order to reduce plastic waste.
(Source: Instagram/@ryu_jongdae)In the fight against the use of substances that harm the environment and put pressure on the ecosystem, South Korean artist Ryu Jong-dae has been using his craft to turn bioplastics into environment-friendly furniture. According to a Reuters report, while the 40-year-old is known for his wooden concept furniture pieces, in recent years, he has turned to a cornstarch-based bioplastic, in order to reduce plastic waste in the process of making artworks.
For his project called ‘Digital Craft’, he uses Polylactic Acid (PLA), which is a bioplastic made from renewable resources like cornstarch or sugarcane. It can degrade after a few years in particular environments.
“The resources that we use now are finite, so I think artists should care about the way of reducing waste when they design and make products for the public,” he had told the outlet.
This South Korean artist is creating eco-friendly, modern-style furniture from a surprising material – cornstarch 🤯 pic.twitter.com/5Meou4WMvM
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 6, 2020
The artist said he grinds the dehydrated corn into a starch, and then solidifies it to turn it into a coil which can then be used to design any furniture, using a 3D printer.
“Digital crafting is meaningful because it expands the scope of work from existing crafts by using new materials, such as bioplastics. It also reduces waste that comes from the creative process and uses eco-friendly materials, which helps the global environment,” Ryu had told Reuters in April 2020.
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