A new piece of natural land art has appeared at the National Center for Traditional Arts. Internationally renowned artist Lin Shuen-long worked with local weaving experts from Yilan to create a rice straw installation. The artwork is a bean pod shaped space ship, as well as functioning as a set of benches. It''s a one-of-a-kind Yilan exclusive.

Lin Shuen-long
Land artist
I feel that the most precious thing about Taiwanese people is their attentiveness.

Land artist Lin Shuen-long’s attention to detail has created this bean-pod space ship in a field by the river at the National Center for Traditional Arts in Yilan. From up in the air, the gigantic pod looks like a house; and a nearby human looks like a tiny doll.

Lin Shuen-long
Land artist
We created art with rice fields in Japan too. So I thought, we already have this experience, let’s do it here at the National Center for Traditional Arts.

Local rice straw became a perfect medium for Lin. His bean-pod is light-hearted and humorous, while curiously majestic. At 11 meters long and 4 meters tall, it’s as tall as a bungalow, and made entirely by hand. Lin enlisted the help of 18 master weavers to complete the work using traditional techniques such as plaiting the rice into ropes and brooms. It took more than a month to lay 500 bundles of rice over a steel frame designed by Lin, to create the pods’ images. And there’s even three sweet little ”bean” chairs in the pod.

Lin Shuen-long
Land artist
In Yongmei Community, everyone was so helpful. Our locals here came together to make the work. It’s turning a daily-life thing into a piece of art. It’s not just a technique issue. It also depends on your mood when you’re creating it.

This is a piece of unique art that could only come together with hard work from both the artist and skilled craftspeople, combining heart with skills and local knowledge. As for these little bean chairs – even the grandest elder can feel like a little kid againby snuggling up inside one.