Reconstituted
Wooden Chair parts, Belts

Reconstituted was born from the desire to save chairs from dumpsters during the moving season in Madison, Wisconsin. Broken chairs were reconstructed into bullheads by using their parts organically. It demonstrates the cruel reality humans have generated. We are no longer a part of our ecosystem. We are destroying the environment and, in effect, consuming life.

I admire the material freedom of this culture, but am also dismayed by the cost of such freedom: rainforest and species extinction, massive landfill and garbage patches, C02 emissions, and ice cover shrinkage. Beyond environmental damage, our life style negatively impacts the social, political, and economic ethos both here and abroad: wars fought over resources, unfair labor practices, modern slavery and human trafficking, animal rights issues, drug battles.

The cowboy is an iconic American image. Almost everyone in the world regards the cowboy as a role model. People want to achieve this materialized American dream in China, India, Brazil, and many other countries. I believe everyone has the right to dream, but if this dream is not environmentally, morally, or economically sustainable, we must change.

—Hongtao Zhou