The Anamorphic Bench

The Anamorphic Bench plays with perspective and the human body. It brings original, playful and pedagogical urban furniture to public space. Its complex geometry is the stretch of a simple chair.

The Anamorphic Bench is a unique piece created by YokYok. This artistic project is part of YokYok’s ongoing exploration of three-dimensional anamorphosis. Operating at the intersection of art, design, and architecture, their approach aims to create works based on three principles:

1- Playing with perspective.
2- Staging the human body.
3- Providing original, playful, and educational furniture.

The Anamorphic Bench is the stretch of a simple chair. When viewed from the right perspective, the initially dislocated bench reveals the initial form, and a chair shows up. The geometry changes and flattens, the legs hide themselves behind each other, and the magic operates. Individuals sitting at different levels on the bench appear at varying sizes. The bench stages those who use it. The phenomenon is more obvious in photography or by simply closing one eye.

For its inaugural creation, the Anamorphic Bench received the support and trust of the city of Malicorne-sur-Sarthe. In an eco-friendly and local creative approach, YokYok aimed to craft for the seating a “Malicorne concrete”, composed of:

– Low-carbon cement (without clinker);
– 100% natural pigments to evoke Malicorne’s clay;
– Shards of Malicorne earthenware (instead of gravel) to enrich the recipe with a historical dimension, invoking a local craftsmanship at the core of the material.

35kg of plates (broken plates, cooking defects, rejects, donated by the Art Faïence Workshop of Malicorne) were necessary for the realization of the ‘‘Malicorne concrete’’.

All the formworks and concrete pouring took place in Malicorne-sur-Sarthe at the city workshops in September 2023. The team received support and expertise from Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies for the implementation of its low-carbon cement.