Li’s chair series investigates bodily discomfort through the modification of furniture, examining how design disciplines movement and behaviour. What appears to be a simple ergonomic adjustment reveals the invisible structures that shape how we sit, act, and conform, extending into broader questions of power, authority, and social conditioning.

Expanding this inquiry, the Uncertainty series of digital renders transforms a range of designer chairs into symbols of instability and unpredictability. Through a simple yet disruptive alteration — replacing each chair’s stable support pole with a large spring — the object loses its structural balance. Once sat upon, the direction of tilt becomes indeterminate, introducing risk into a form normally associated with stability and support.

In this transformation, the chair becomes a metaphor for contemporary life, shaped by unknown variables and sudden shifts. The predictable function of seating is replaced by a constant negotiation with instability.

The series invites viewers to reflect on their relationship to ambiguity by translating abstract uncertainty into a bodily experience. The visible steel spring externalises what is often invisible — the fragile foundations beneath systems we assume to be secure. By incorporating this mechanism, the work questions assumptions of control and permanence, prompting consideration of how individuals respond to forces beyond their command.