PEACOCK CHAIR MONA ALCUDIA

DESIGN ACADEMY EINDHOVEN

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 THE
PEACOCK CHAIR

Mona Alcudia
Design Academy Eindhoven
Master Department Contextual Design
 5
Introduction

13
Contextualizing Filipino Design

29
Post-colonialism, Orientalism
and Decolonization

41
The Peacock Chair

59
Hybridity and Relation

75
Conclusion

78-80
References
List of Images
Colophon
 I.
INTRODUCTION

In which a jeepney travels from the East

to seek the blessing of the West
 I was born in the city of Cebu, Philippines, and
my views, aesthetics and skills as a designer were
formed by the landscape of export-oriented design
and manufacturing that surrounded me. (fig.1) I
grew up knowing my city’s reputation for skilled
weavers and craftsmen, and the pride we took
in this identity of makers.  Studying industrial
design in university, I keenly remember the first
day that Jeepneys were discussed by a professor.
Jeepney mentality, a phrase he coined, referred to
the phenomenon of treating every surface of the
Jeepney as a canvas for folk art and leaving no
space unadorned.

Jeepneys are the most iconic mode of transport

in the Philippines, serving as exotic, colorful,
wild buses on the most traffic-ridden cities in
the world (fig. 2). Built from US military jeeps
abandoned after the second world war, these
vehicles were repurposed in the 1950s and
adorned with striking colours and imagery,
as chosen by their drivers. A collage of holy
catholic figures, names of family members,
cartoon characters, the Philippine countryside
or anything that the driver’s heart desires.

Fig. 1
A street in Cebu City, Philippines 7
 It captured the colorful, warmly-coloured,
tropical horror vacui that encapsulated the
everyday sights of an overpopulated, developing
country like the Philippines. We all understood
Jeepney mentality, and we accepted it when
he said that as designers, we were to shun it.
This was the native, the kitsch, the vernacular,
and this we had unlearn in the guise of good,
rational design.

After my graduation, I designed for several years

in an export manufacturing furniture company
that specialised in subcontracting designs for
European furniture design brands (fig.3). Pouring
over their catalogs and overseeing the production
techniques of these designs, I was fascinated by
the conceptualisation that vastly differed from my
design training up to that point. The conceptual
quality and defined materiality had me fascinated,
and eventually lead me to seek out a place in a
European design school. Supporting me in this
choice, fellow designers told me this is the best
way to proceed in the career: “you must receive a
blessing from the west”, a colleague joked.

Fig. 2
A jeepney in Cebu City, Philippines

Fig. 3
Detail of craftsman weaving furniture 9
 In moving to the Netherlands, my perspective
shifted towards the curious nature of exoticism
and orientalization in design. I felt strongly
compelled to understand this feeling of the
“other”: the otherness of being a minority in
my design school, the otherness of far-flung
Southeast asian factories, the otherness in
anonymous craft labor. With its handicraft
industry heavily intertwined with a system of
exporting goods around the world, I felt the sense
that original Filipino design played secondary
role to the industry’s primary role of catering to
the production needs of the international design
community. We are first production workers
and exporters first before product designers.
Understanding the Philippines’ role in the global
supply chain has bred a new generation of
product/industrial design schools that are inclined
to cater and develop the design and manufacturing
demands of an external source without re-
evaluating the transparency of the entire system.

Fig. 4
One of the designer’s first projects in
Design Academy Eindhoven that dealt
with themes of globalization and food
gentrification between PH and NL 11
 II.
CONTEXTUALIZING
FILIPINO DESIGN

Tracing the furniture crafts of the

Philippine Islands
from its roots to the contemporary
landscape
Recently, I came across a news article that
described the biggest Indian Art conspiracy that
involved my small city in the Philippines. The
story describes how two factories in Cebu City
have been exposed for manufacturing millions of
dollars’ worth of fake Native American jewelry
to be sold in the US and touted as Indian-made
products. National Geographic reported that “Ali
confessed to mixing the knockoff jewelry with
genuine Indian-made jewelry and ensuring ‘that
none of the Philippine-made jewelry was marked
with its country of origin.”⁣¹ While it is described
as the biggest Native American arts and crafts
fraud in recent history, the underlying significance
of the story revolving around transparency and
authenticity in the international supply chain are
intriguing points to consider.

Cebu City has always been a city of merchants

and makers. According to the Chamber of
Furniture Industries of the Philippines, Inc.
(CFIP), “the main strength of the industry is in
design, especially the parts and pieces that use
sustainable materials or indigenous components
such as abaca, bamboo, coco coir, buri, and piña
fiber”.² The Department of Trade and Industry
in the Philippines estimates that “of the world’s
$35 billion value of production of furniture
in 2012, 0.2 percent was accounted for by the
Philippines”.  The leading furniture exporter is
China, taking up 38% of total world exports The
top Asian exporting country is Vietnam, on 7th
place, with a 2.5% share of total world exports.

15
According to the Cebu Furniture Industry primer
provided by the Department of Trade and Industry
- Cebu, the region is known as the furniture capital
of the Philippines, responsible for over 60% of
the Philippine exports.³ Being a former American
colony, the Philippines has had a longstanding
relationship with the US in the furniture trade,
with America continuing to be its top export
market. The furniture manufacturing industry in
Cebu can be traced back to American businessmen
capitalizing on the abundance of rattan in the
area, as well as the skilled Filipino craftsman who
could weave it.

Maricris Encarnacion has written about the

history of Cebu furniture in 2012, noting that
“while the Philippines boasts of various cities
known for the manufacturing of furniture using
a variety of indigenous materials, Cebu City, in
particular, has successfully grown and developed
its furniture industry in the last 60 years, carving
out distinctive niche markets around the world.” 4

Location plays a large role in this. As an

archipelago with 7,107 islands divided into three
main island groups - Luzon in the North, Visayas
in the middle and Mindanao in the south - Cebu
is located within the Visayas islands and has
made it a strategically located heart for inter-
island commerce and trade. This differs from the
agricultural trade that is common amongst other
Philippine regions. In effect, people found a living
in the fishing industry or in establishing trade and
manufacturing businesses, developing a history
of skilled workers trained through the years of
traditional handiwork.
17
 Cebu’s legacy as the first landing site of the
Spanish colonisers also plays a role in its rich
history. When Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand
Magellan, became the first European to land in
the country 400 years ago, he brought with him
a Spanish expedition that cemented new trade
routes to the East across the Pacific ocean. They
discovered Malay and Chinese merchants were
already engaging in a barter trade with the local
natives. The Spanish colonisers use of the Catholic
Church as a large influencer on the Filipinos
contributed to the development of local artists and
artisans who learned to paint and carve religious
imagery for the church and its devotees. These
images were copied from the icons and designs
brought from Spain. This exposure to Western
art, aside from the development of Spanish style
architecture, imposed a aesthetic influence on the
early Filipinos.

The departure of the Spanish colonies and the

arrival of Americans during World War II brought a
large number of American servicemen, companies
and expatrieates to Cebu keep the peace and
provide security for the locals. Several of them
chose to develop furniture businesses by working
with local furniture craftsmen. Rattan was a
main choice of material in designing and making
furniture, and they worked on the designing,
manufacturing and trading of furniture for local
and American markets (fig. 5-8)

Fig. 5-8
Raw rattan vines and rattan furniture in
Cebu, Philippines 19
 Philippine Furniture
Industry: Now
In 2014, the Department of Trade and Industry
in Cebu commissioned a research on the current
state of the Furniture Industry in the Philippines.
This primer captured the nature of the furniture
import and export activities of the country, its
impact on the world market and possible solutions
and recommendations for the problematic issues
surrounding the industry. At the time of the study,
China held the title of leading furniture export,
taking up 38% of the total world exports, with
Germany, Italy United States and Poland following
its lead. The Philippines ranked 49th among
its asian and ASEAN neighbours, registering at
0.14% share of the 2013 world market. Despite
the diminishing rate of growth among world
furniture exporters, the Philippines has managed
to increase its growth of 8% in 2012 to 42% in the
following year, showing a promising development
amongst the Filipino furniture manufacturing
industry.

Fig. 9
Rayna Chair by Vito Selma 21
 Manila, Pampanga and Cebu are cited as the
major furniture producing areas in the country,
with Cebu contributing 60% of all exports
despite only 205 of manufacturers belonging
to the province. According to the study, “75%
of furniture exports consist mostly of rattan
and wooden items. Wood, accounting for 40%
of furniture production while rattan, bamboo
and buri combined captures another 40%”. Each
province is known for producing furniture
of specific materials: Manila specialised in
wooden and mixed material furniture, Pampanga
specialises in hand-carved wooden furniture, and
Cebu is known for its rattan, stone, wrought iron
and wooden furniture.

In their research summary, the researchers

found general characteristics shared among
the longstanding furniture companies that
have operated for more than 12 years within
the country. In terms of business employment
and operations, they provided the following
statistics: “Sixty-six percent of employees
are hired directly or in-house, while 34% are
contracted to manpower agencies and sub-
contractors. Among the direct employees,
70% are production workers, 5% production
supervisors, 5% quality control staff, 5% hired
for research and development, and the rest (8%)
are administrative, marketing, distribution, and
office staff.” Designers, whether in-house or
contractual, fall under the 5% for research and
development, reflecting the bigger emphasis on
production investment.

Fig. 10
Weaving detail on furniture 23
 Among these furniture companies, subcontracting
is a common practice, with 88% of them hiring
subcontractors to build semi-finished parts
and components for furniture pieces. Various
subcontractors can be utilised for a project, with
final assembly and finishing to be made within the
main company. This process of subcontracting is
vital within the Philippine furniture manufacturing
industry. In terms of machinery and equipment,
the nature of the furniture industry within the
Philippines is very labor intensive, with  “eighty
one percent of companies use semi-automatic
machines and seventy five percent use hand
tools”. With the demand of woven and handcrafted
furniture, Filipino manufacturers invest more in
intensive manual labor and the corresponding
designs that go with it, as opposed to more
mechanised design.

Marketing to a foreign market involves

international promotional activities and
establishing trade channels. According to the
research: “the sources of information pertaining
to foreign buyers are mostly from trade fairs,
own contacts, and referrals (fig. 11). The most
frequently used medium for promotion is through
the company’s website. Products sold to the
export market are distributed mostly through
importers/buyers, distributors, and other retailers.
For the local market, distribution is direct to end
users as well as own store and boutiques.”

Fig. 11
Special setting of peacock chairs for Manila Fame 2016 25
 Contemporary Philippine Design
While the Philippine furniture industry has been
strongly engaged in exporting furniture and
design accessories with the US/Europe since the
1970s, it is only in recent decades that designers
have ventured into strengthening their design
brand and setting them apart from the ubiquitous
aesthetics of southeast asian furniture. Designers
like Kenneth Cobonpue have gained prominence
from leading his family’s furniture business after
receiving design education and internships from
the US and Europe, and has applied modern
design techniques in his integrating natural fibers
and materials, traditional craft and innovative
technologies. From his modern interpretation
of the peacock chair to pushing the boundaries
of rattan by conceptualising the world’s first
bamboo and rattan roadster, the Phoenix (fig.
13), Cobonpue advocates a modern approach and
clean aesthetic to his designs while honouring the
tradition of craft. Vito Selma, another Cebuano
designer, has also gained distinction for his keen
attention to detail and excellent craftsmanship,
with an aesthetic simplicity that can be likened to
Japanese or Scandinavian influence. His tribute to
the classic peacock chair, called the Raina (fig. 9),
exaggerates its form and highlights the handiwork
that goes into each piece.

Fig. 12
Peacock Easy Chair by Kenneth Cobonpue

Fig. 13
Phoenix Roadster by Kenneth Cobonpue 27
 IV.
POST-
COLONIALISM,
ORIENTALISM &
DECOLONIZATION

“Young people looking to

the East for spiritual sustenance looked
to Pier I Imports for exotic crash pad
furnishings at Third World prices.”

- Bill Crawford, “Bringing it all Back Home: A Pier

I Buyer Ogles the World’s Exotic Wares with One
Burning Question: Will they Sell in Fort Worth?” Texas
Monthly (January, 1989)
 To get a better grasp of the prevalence of
western-influenced design in the Philippines is to
make a reading of its colonial and post-colonial
experiences. Postcolonialism is the term used in
dealing with the political, linguistic and cultural
effects on former western/european colonies
from the sixteenth century, including present-day
neo-colonialism. 5 Postcolonialism cover a range
of post-independence activities, it is mainly used
as a method of critiquing the totalizing forms
of Western historicism.  In Southeast Asia, The
Philippines is the only country that was unable to
fully develop a dominant culture or a centralised
form of government because of its early subjection
to Western colonisation. With its sovereignty
recognised as recently as 1946, the country’s
history has been spent in centuries of western
subjugation, from when Spain first encountered
and established the country as its colony in the
1500s and the United States takeover in the 1800s.
Decades since being granted independence from
the US,  the influence of western culture, politics
and economic ties continues to be strongly felt
within the nation.

Fig. 14
Neutral Calibration Studies (Ornament + Crime) by artist
Stephanie Syjuco is an installation that “creates a visual
friction, challenging the idea of cultural and political
neutrality by presenting a coded narrative of empire
and colonialism as told through art history, Modernism,
ethnography, stock photos, and Google Image searches.”
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 The strength of orientalist discourse still
pervades in post-colonial Filipino culture. The
writer Edward Said is attributed for popularising
the term “orientalism” in his book of the same
name. He describes orientalism as a Focauldian
discourse that has constructed a reality of the
Orient that is systemically embedded within the
factual reality of European civil and political
realms. 6 There is a clear distinction made between
the Occident (west) and the Orient (east):
“dealing with it by making statements about it,
authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching
it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism
as a Western style for dominating, restructuring,
and having authority over the Orient”. Orientalism
developed as a system of hegemonic knowledge
that created geographical and epistemological
division between what was “ours” and what
was “theirs”. These distinctions highlighted the
cultural differences that focused on the East’s
lack of civility, emphasising traits like laziness,
violence, lust, irrationality, mystery and exoticism.
The perceived superiority of western civilization
led Orientalists to justify the imposition of their
own understanding of the orient that excluded
the orients themselves. This view of the Orient
is made by western eyes, for western eyes: a
Eurocentric approach prone to generalizations
drawn from readings of individual experiences.
Said describes this inferior view of the orient as a
Freudian mechanism of projection, with the other
displaying characteristics that Europe did not
want to acknowledge within itself.

Fig. 15
“Emmanuelle” by Just Jaeckin is a French erotic film
that follows the sexual exploits of a French couple in Thailand
33
 In the 19th century, orientalism shifted to a
modern form that defined the “other” as a pure
and innocent counterpart to the sophistication
of western civilization. The speedy technological
and social development rate of the West led
westerners to believe in an evolutionary leverage
over the Orient, justifying their pursuit of imperial
and colonial conquests. 20th century Orientalism
evolved because of the political ties between
the East and West. Despite better decolonisation
processes after the second world war and stronger
interaction between the east and west, orientalism
continued to thrive, albeit of a more implicit
nature.

In my earlier introduction of jeepney mentality,

the expression of a “blessing from the west” hints
at self-orientalist view of the Filipino design
idenitity. As described by Said, Orientalists
exaggerated the difference and presumed the
superiority of the West in its perception of the
Oriental World. In turning away from bad design
represented by jeepney mentality (primitive,
traditional, inferior), we were taught to seek
“contemporary” and “progressive” traits in
western or western influenced design. This
orientalist tendency has only become clearer to
me once I ventured to study in the Netherlands,
and the phrase “Jeepney mentality” is an ever-
pervading concept in my mind. How does one not
easily fall into the trap of self-orientalising one’s
own culture in the process?

Fig. 16
The anonymous Peacock chair and
the Hans Wegner Peacock chair
35
 Through decolonisation, one studies colonialist
powers and follows a complex and ever
continuing process of revealing, understanding
and dismantling these structures. This involves
the hidden elements of institutional and cultural
powers that had maintained colonial rule and
continues to remain even after the achievement
of independence or sovereignty. The difficulty in
decolonisation processes is the strength of the
hegemonic educational practices of the colonisers
who have often espoused to settler colonies to
value western or European culture above one’s
own culture. Early decolonisers were often
complicit with the imperial powers though an
establishment of an elite class that maintained
the colonial power in more implicit methods.
On the other side of the spectrum, extreme
decolonisation resembles liberation through
nativism, or the desire for a return to pre-colonial
society though recovery of indigenous practices.
Whatever process is undertaken towards
decolonisation, simplifying notions of nationalism
and national liberation can be seen as problematic
and tends towards homogenization in the
correction of issues within the post-independent
condition.

Fig. 17
Global Indianization / Indianización Global by Pedro Lasch

Fig. 18
MTL+ action at the Brooklyn Museum, New York 37
 Beyond the traditional sense of decolonisation,
art and design activists have begun to explore
methods of decolonisation in various contexts.
A contemporary example would be the recent
large group exhibition, Decolonizing Appearance,
curated by visual culture theorist Nicholas
Mirzoeff from New York University. 7 The
exhibition raises questions, such as “how do
the colonized and the colonizer appear to each
other?How can the colonized have the right to
look, the right to be seen – in short, the right to
appear? What would happen when appearance is
decolonized?”. Mirzoeff speaks of the power in
appearance, and the ability to make something
hidden, visible. Colonialism created racial and
gender categories that limited the appearance of
colonial dwellers and set them in the background.
The works of the artists attempt to challenge
the hierarchies brought about by this idea of
appearance: “If appearance is decolonized, it
prefigures in the present a poetry from the future
that others might aspire towards.”

Through the process of decolonisation in design,

I would like to explore the idea of overturning
the anonymity in Philippine manufactured objects
brought about by its implicit “otherness”. To do
so, I choose to focus on the Peacock chair.

Fig. 19
The Andersons by Jane Jin Kaisen:
“The artwork reverses the racial dynamic within the
transnational adoptive family by portraying a supposedly
Asian American couple with their 9-year- old Danish-born
adoptive daughter Belinda.”
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 IV.
THE PEACOCK
CHAIR

“Impressive indeed! Like a throne chair,

one imagines a chieftain sitting here in
all his regal splendor of painted skin and
beads under palm trees.”

- June 1914 issue of American Homes and Gardens

41
 The increase in trade in the 17th century brought
more than wealth to European traders: it also
ushered in a period of exotic materials and
decor from Asia. The charm of woven rattan,
developed by Southeast asian craftsmen, was a
strong contender against willow wicker and other
European plant fibers among American designs in
the 19th century. Furniture pieces from colonies in
Indonesia, China and the Philippine also displayed
hourglass-shaped bases that varied greatly
from western woven furniture. Among all these
hourglass base designs, the peacock chair was
considered quite most regal and exotic due to the
appearance of the grand, throne-like back.

Touted as the “Manila” or “Philippine” chair, it was

often romanticised by American critics as a chair
of Southeast Asian royalty. However, according to
research by Emily Morris, she uncovered a 1913
California outlook article stating the unglamorous
roots of the chair can be traced back to prison
labor. 8 Made in the Bilibid prison in Manila, the
largest in the Philippines, inmates were given
routines to create furniture and woven accessories
from “reed, willow, grass and wood” (fig. 20).
The design is attributed to a German prisoner
and was kept in on display in the prison’s model
room. Despite its initial source, it still captured
the fascination of American audiences during its
debut in the at the Philippine Building of the 1915
Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Fig. 20
Images of craft labor within Bilibid prison

Fig. 21
Bureau of prison catalogue for wicker furniture
43
 Counterculture Symbol
In the 1960s, peacock chairs became a desirable
seat for portraiture in the early film industry, due
to the availability of import stores in California.
Most notable was the chair’s appearance in the
popular television series, “the Addams family”,
a sitcom that portrayed a darkly humorous
family of ghouls (fig. 22). Often referered to
as the “Morticia” chair, the choice of wicker
furniture like the peacock chair was deliberate:
it represented the cutting edge style of designers
in the period and challenged the mainstream
aesthetics of stereotypical suburban families.
This embrace of the wicker revival also signaled a
counterculture aesthetic for the antiestablishment
American youth, who sought to assert a separate
decorative style from their parents generation and
reflecting the gap widened by political and civil
rights conflicts of the era.

Fig. 22
The Addams Family
45
 Black Power
The chair’s power as a cultural symbol developed
further in the 1960s with its political usage by
California’s dissident Black Panther Party. The
now-famous photographer of Huey Newton, co-
founder of the party, was conceptualised in order
to have “a centralized symbol of the leadership
of black people in the black community.” Despite
being of Filipino origin, the peacock chair’s
material resembled woven raffia, a material
of African ancestry, and the chair took on the
identity of an African warrior’s throne (fig. 23):

“A poster of Huey Newton sitting in a rattan

throne chair wearing a beret and a black leather
jacket while holding a rifle in his right hand and a
spear in his left hand. Leaning against the wall on
either side of the chair is a leaf-shaped, Zulu style
shield with designs of horizontal line markings
across the front. Beneath the chair is a zebra print
rug. Along the bottom of the print is the text [The
racist dog policemen must withdraw immediately
from our communities, cease their wanton murder
and brutality and torture of black people, or face
the wrath of the armed people].”

Fig. 23
Huey Newton on the Peacock chair
47
 Exoticism
The 1970s also saw the peacock chair gain
popularity in Europe as a symbol of oriental
eroticism through the movie, Emmanuelle (fig.
25). The French softcore movie revolves around
a beautiful French model who lives with husband
in Thailand and embarks on a voyage of sexual
discovery through several extramarital affairs. The
movie poster features actress Sylvia Kristel seated
seductively on the chair, flanked by tropical plants
on both sides. The prominence of the peacock
chair truly signals the orientalist slant of the
movie, depicting Thailand as Emmanuelle’s exotic
playground for sexual awakening and the escape
from her European lifestyle.

Fig. 24
Brigitte Bardot on the Peacock chair

Fig. 25
Emmanuelle Movie poster 49
 Pop Culture Icon
In the US, the chair’s popularity in counterculture
and anti-establishment circles fully entered the
mainstream consciousness in the 1970s, with many
musicians, notably African American artists like Al
Green and Dorothy Moore, favouring the seat for
their album covers. Up until today, contemporary
musicians, actors and artists continue to use the
chair for its symbolic nature: pop artist Beyonce
brought one during her Formation tour in 2016
(fig. 26); a reimagined version of the chair was
featured as a Wakanda throne for the 2018 afro-
futurist themed superhero movie, Black Panther;
and Danish artists La Vaughn Belle and Jeanette
Ehlers revealed “I am Queen Mary” in 2018, the
first-ever public monument in of a black woman
seated on a peacock chair, who was inspired by
the 19th century freedom fighter, Mary Thomas
(fig. 27).

Fig. 26
Beyonce on the Peacock chair

Fig. 27
“I am Queen Mary” by Jeanette Ehlers 51
 Contemporary Peacock Chairs
Several designers have already attempted to
create their own stylised versions of the chair. The
similarly named Peacock chair by Danish designer
Hans Wagner was developed in 1947. While never
explicitly stated that it was inspired by southeast
asian furniture, it resembles a Scandinavian
version of the chair with its wide, regal back.
Using updated materials and techniques, the high
back and hourglass shape still recalls the original
silhouette that gave the Peacock chair its name.
Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola focused on the
shape and craftsmanship details, traveled to the
Philippines to perfect the weaving process, and
came up with the elegant Crinoline chair for B&B
Italia (fig. 28). Design Duo Doshi Levien also gave
a nod to the peacock chair’s large fan back with
their iteration for Kettal, the Cala chair.

Fig. 28
“Crinoline chairs” by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia 53
 Social Media Spectacle
Aside from pulling up iconic and vintage images
of celebrities lounging on the Peacock chair, it
is often a common design feature in social media
platforms like Instagram. As a trendy, boho-chic
piece of furniture, #peacockchair has almost
40,000 posts to date on Instagram (fig. 29). These
photos range from the chair being used as a
wedding or party accessory or as part of domestic,
“hippie” decor, surrounded by tropical plants.

Fig. 29
Instagram screenshots for #peacockchair 55
 Celebrated Export Design
Filipino manufacturers, see the Peacock chair
as a testament to the legacy of great makers and
crafters from this country, and sought to put it
into the public consciousness. In 2016,  Manila
FAME, the Philippine’s premier design and
lifestyle event, organised an exhibition around
the Peacock chair, described as “a world-class
furniture piece crafted in the early 20th century
Philippines that tells the incredible story of the
Filipinos’ creative spirit as a source of triumph
and redemption.” 9 Dubbed “ICON: Peacock
Chair Redux,”  it involved the collaboration of
top Philippine small to medium enterprises and
nine designers who were tapped to redesign the
Peacock Chair (also called Philippine Chair) in a
contemporary forms and materials (fig. 30).
Beautifully executed in a wide variety of concepts,
I could see that the peacock chair served as a
medium for expressing Filipino craftsmanship.
These chairs, did not, however, call for any sort
of criticality to the cultural references that the
Peacock chair had already symbolized.

Fig. 30
Daphne Osena Paez on the Rayna chair by Vito Selma 57
 V.
HYBRIDITY
&
RELATION

“Impressive indeed! Like a throne chair,

one imagines a chieftain sitting here in
all his regal splendor of painted skin and
beads under palm trees.”

- June 1914 issue of American Homes and Gardens

 Seeing the complexity of the peacock chairs
narratives and varying identities has convinced
me of its potential as a larger metaphor for
anonymity in labor and orientalized design. In
order to visualise the process of visualising the
my investigation of these concepts, I choose to
embrace the multiplicity of narratives by focusing
on the concept of hybridity. Instead of looking
into constructing pure hierarchies for the chair,
I believe in the authenticity that can be obtained
from the multi-cultural retelling.  A vehicle with a
collage of holy catholic figures, names of family
members, cartoon characters, the Philippine
countryside or anything that the driver’s heart
desires: jeepney mentality that was initially
shunned in the search of a “better” design identity,
express to me the visual acknowledgement of
organic points of contact within a postcolonial
environment.

Fig. 31
Patricia Urquiola on a tricycle carrying chair
frames in the Philippines

Fig. 32
A horse-drawn cart peddling household items
in the Philippines 61
 Homi Bhabha, a writer in the field of post-colonial
discourse, speaks of hybridity:
“…as a strategic reversal of the process
domination through disavowal. Hybridity
reevaluates the assumption of colonial identity
through the repetition of discriminatory identity
effects. In this way, hybridity can unsettle the
narcissist demands of colonial power, but reforms
its identifications in strategies of subversion that
turn the gaze of the discriminated back upon
the colonist. Therefore, with this interpretation,
hybridity represents that ambivalent ‘turn’ of
the subject into the anxiety-causing object of
“paranoid classification—a disturbing questioning
of the images and presences of authority”.
The hybrid retains the actual semblance of the
authoritative symbol but reforms its presence by
denying it as the signifier of disfigurement—after
the intervention of difference.” 10

In postcolonial theory, hybridity refers to the

forms produced from the contact of different
cultures as a byproduct of colonisation. Bhabha
speaks of a “Third Space” of Enunciation”, a
space where cultural statements and systems
are constructed, and that the recognition
of this space in cultural identity can aid in
overturning exoticism and cultural diversity.
The empowerment of hybridity where cultural
diffrences can operate creates the potential to
overturn the structures of domination in colonial/
postcolonial discourse.

Fig. 33
“Are you the Right Kind of Woman for It?”
by Hank Willis Thomas 63
 Can we view the complexity and multiplicity
of the Philippines’ colonial history as positive
contributors in the development of a rich and
diverse Filipino culture? In the Poetics of
Relation, French Martinique writer Edoard
Glissant speaks of relation, both in the aesthetic
and political sense, as “as a transformative mode
of history, capable of enunciating and making
concrete a French-Caribbean reality with a self-
defined past and future.”¹¹ His idea of identity
as created in relation, and not in isolation, to
complex historical circumstances, is key in the
development towards a transformed understanding
of multiculturalism in former colonies like the
Philippines. In an attempt to avoid generalizations
and homogenous universality, Glissant defines the
state of Relation as a “an open totality evolving
upon itself … In Relation, the whole is not the
finality of its parts: for multiplicity in totality is
totally diversity.”

Fig. 34
1992 US Presidential campaign poster for
queer artist Joan Jett-Blakk 65
 “Relation is the moment when we realize that
there is a definite quality of all the differences in
the world”: For Glissant, it is the encounter with
the Other that prompts the emergence of identity.
The meeting of different cultures in situations
like colonialism creates a unique relational
circumstance that is not necessarily a rejection of
identity, but in recognition of concrete identities
as essential elements for the transaction between
cultures. The ever-evolving construction of new
identities through creolisation, (The mixing of
people brought a cultural mixing which ultimately
led to the formation of new identities) is the
clearest example of the poetics of human relation.

Using the framework of Relation opens the

discussion of identity within decolonialization
beyond the narrative of oppression, dominance
and submission, and its assertion “in opposition
to the processes of identification or annihilation
triggered by these invaders.” Glissant sees the
world in terms of the shared connectivity that
relation offers, where intersecting histories can
occur and flourish. Through the dynamism of
creolization, he illustrates the metaphor of an
archipelago where everything is connected but
remains distinctly unique.

Fig. 35
“Whip it Good” by Jeanette Ehlers
67
 Hybridity in design is exemplified in object-
specific design translation projects like “the Tulip
Pyramid” by Chinese designer Jing He.¹² She
researched on the 17th century Dutch invention
that derives its motifs, materials and forms
from historical Chinese porcelain and pagodas.
In the pursuit of understanding the question of
Chinese identity in design, often associated with
copies and replicas, she takes the Tulip Pyramid
as a point of exploration for replication and
transformation in design. Jing He asks a group of
Chinese designers to execute one Tulip Pyramid
with various methods of copying, while she takes
a cue from well-known Dutch designers and copies
their aesthetic choices within her version of the
Tulip Pyramid (fig. 36).

Fig. 36
“Tulip Pyramid” by Jing He
69
 Aram Lee’s The Dutch Wife is another design
research project that looks into the complicated
history of colonialism between The Netherlands
and its colony, Indonesia, through one object. ¹³
A “Dutch Wife” is a bolster cushion that was used
in bedrooms of tropical climate, typically made
of bamboo mesh. While referred to as Dutch, it
was an unfamiliar object in the Netherlands, but
referred to its colonial ties with the European
country (fig. 37). She travelled to Indonesia to
better understand the object’s making process and
history, and applied the production techniques to
blankets suitable for a Dutch climate. According
to Lee, “the narrative meaning and value of an
object is deeply tied to the community in which it
exists, and this meaning and value may change or
disappear as the object is transplanted between
different cultures and contexts”.

Fig. 37
“The Dutch Wife” by Aram Lee 71
 “Fake in Italy” by designers Paolo Cardini and
Simone Muscolino tackle the question of cultural
hybridity and new identities formed between
the intersection of Italian production methods
and global stereotypes. 14 Stating that Italian
products are often copied and counterfeited
around the world because of their excellent
qualities, and this phenomenon creates a range
of products that mesh global aesthetic and
functional characteristics. Theses objects belong
to different cultures but are executed in Italian
methods and materials, raising the question
of values in the “made in” system. Cardini and
Muscolino’s approach to developing a objects
that use materials that evoke specific Italian
sensibilities while executing them in unexpected
forms seems like an effective approach to
questioning where the authenticity and “sense of
place” belongs to a piece of design (fig. 38). Does
the fake lie in the de-localization of production or
materials? Or does it lie in the appropriation of a
completely different function from objects that it
is traditionally intended for?

Fig. 38
“Fake in Italy” by Paolo Cardini and Simone Muscolino
73
 VI.
CONCLUSION
 This design research began with as an
investigation on the effect of globalisation in
design and product manufacturing, and my
subsequent questions on its impact on authenticity
and transparency in local and global contexts.
Through the multiplicity of narratives found
within the peacock chair, the question dives
deeper towards an understanding of the celebrated
anonymity of southeast asian manufactured goods.
Through the process of decolonisation in design,
I would like to explore the idea of overturning
this anonymity brought about by its implicit
“otherness”. To do so, I choose to focus on making
the Peacock chair “appear”. Understanding the
concepts of orientalism and hybridity point
the route towards a reclamation instead of an
establishment of identity, to overturn the roles
of designers and manufacturers. Further design
considerations point towards the decolonisation
of the design object, the peacock chair, and
creating a design methodology that integrates the
related cultural theories confronting the audience
of its cultural weight. I choose to embrace the
multiplicity of narratives by focusing on the
concept of hybridity. Instead of looking into
constructing pure hierarchies of identity, I seek to
design the authenticity that can be woven from the
multi-cultural retelling.

Fig. 39
A still from TV series Portlandia, Photoshopped
to feature the author on the Peacock chair 77
IMAGES
1 A street in Cebu City, Philippines. http://www.philippines-hotels.ws/cebu-city/.
2 A jeepney in Cebu City, Philippines. Author’s own.
3 Detail of craftsman weaving furniture. http://www.kennethcobonpue.com/designs/
collections/hagia/bed/.
4 Ubewafel project. Author’s own.
5-8 Raw rattan vines and rattan furniture in Cebu, Philippines. Cebu Furniture: History of
Inspiration and Innovation. ArtPostAsia, 2012.
9 Rayna Chair by Vito Selma. Luym-Sala, Kaye and Cybill Gayatin. Raina chair. Philippine
Daily Inquirer, 9 Nov. 2014, https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/176630/vito-selma-a-tale-of-many-
talents/.
10 Weaving detail on furniture. https://nuvomagazine.com/magazine/summer-2014/kenneth-
cobonpue.
11 Special setting of peacock chairs for Manila Fame 2016. http://primer.com.ph/
blog/2017/03/31/sneak-peek-what-to-expect-at-the-65th-manila-fame-2017/.
12 Peacock Easy Chair by Kenneth Cobonpue. http://www.kennethcobonpue.com/designs/
collections/peacock/easy-armchair/
13 Phoenix Roadster by Kenneth Cobonpue. Db, Bora. Phoenix by Kenneth Cobonpue
and Albrecht Birkner. Designboom, 19 Oct., 2011, https://www.designboom.com/design/
kenneth-cobonpue-phoenix-bamboo-concept-car/.
14 Neutral Calibration Studies (Ornament + Crime) by Stephanie Syjuco. https://www.
stephaniesyjuco.com/projects/neutral-calibration-studies-ornament-crime.
15 “Emmanuelle” byx Just Jaeckin. https://vimeo.com/53642093.
16 The anonymous Peacock chair and the Hans Wegner Peacock chair. https://www.ft.com/
content/5b8ba80e-945f-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af.
17 Global Indianization / Indianización Global by Pedro Lasch. Nielsen, Tone O., and Yannick
Harrison. Decolonizing Appearance. CAMP / Center for Art on Migration Politics, 2018.
18 MTL+ action at the Brooklyn Museum. Nielsen, Tone O., and Yannick
Harrison. Decolonizing Appearance. CAMP / Center for Art on Migration Politics, 2018.
19 The Andersons by Jane Jin Kaisen. Nielsen, Tone O., and Yannick Harrison. Decolonizing
Appearance. CAMP / Center for Art on Migration Politics, 2018.
20 Images of craft labor within Bilibid prison. “Dept. D, Rattan furniture shop, Bilibid
Prison, Manila P.I.”, Ebay. https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Department-D-Rattan-furniture-shop-
Bilibid-Prison-Manila-Philippines-c1916-/273510301794?hash=item3fae7c0062.
21 Bureau of prison catalogue for wicker furniture. Lico, Gerard. Peacock
chair. Salumpuwit, bangko, silya, atbp.: Chairs in Filipino life, 2012.
22 The Addams Family. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family.
23 Huey Newton on the Peacock chair. Stapp, Blair. “Huey Newton seated in wicker
chair.” New York Historical Society, 1967. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/huey-
newton-seated-in-wicker-chair/6wFXm_aR3ngbBg.
24 Brigitte Bardot on the Peacock chair. https://www.gettyimages.nl/detail/nieuwsfoto’s/
french-actress-brigitte-bardot-in-october-1968-nieuwsfotos/121505896#/french-actress-
brigitte-bardot-in-october-1968-picture-id121505896.
25 Emmanuelle Movie poster. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Emmanuelle-Sylvia-Kristel-
Classic-1974-Adult-Movie-Poster-2-Various-Sizes-/142827881565.
26 Still from Beyonce as Mrs. Carter in H&M video. Youtube, 24 Apr. 2013. https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=ZcD4KPTPE2w&pbjreload=10.
27 “I am Queen Mary” by Jeanette Ehlers. Furbo, Nick. “I am Queen Mary.” Hyperallergic,
2 Apr. 2018. https://hyperallergic.com/435690/jeannette-ehlers-la-vaughn-belle-i-am-queen-
mary/.
28 “Crinoline chairs” by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia. https://www.freshdesignpedia.
com/furniture/furniture-designer-the-the-designer-world-powerful-influence.html.
29 Instagram screenshots for #peacockchair. Author’s own.
30 Daphne Osena Paez on the Rayna chair by Vito Selma. http://daphne.ph/tag/vito-selma.
31 Patricia Urquiola. https://magazine.designbest.com/en/design-culture/people/patricia-
urquiola/.
32 A horse-drawn cart peddling household items in the Philippines. https://www.pinterest.
ph/pin/252975704038188920/.
33 “Are you the Right Kind of Woman for It?” by Hank Willis Thomas. https://www.
chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2018/04/17/let-the-pictures-do-the-talking-hank-willis-
thomas-deconstructs-the-ad-game-at-the-block-museum. 
34 1992 US Presidential campaign poster for queer artist Joan Jett-Blakk. https://www.
theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/feb/15/joan-jett-blakks-joan-jett-blakk-for-president-
going-for-the-top-job. 
35 “Whip it Good” by Jeanette Ehlers. http://perspective.smk.dk/en/place-black-body-
white-history-jeannette-ehlerss-decolonial-interrogation-darker-side-western.
36 “Tulip Pyramid” by Jing He. Design Academy Eindhoven, 2017. https://www.
designacademy.nl/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/2598/tulip-pyramid--copy-and-
identity-interview-nrc.
37 “The Dutch Wife” by Aram Lee. https://leearam.com/Dutch-Wife.
38 “Fake in Italy” by Paolo Cardini and Simone Muscolino. Cardini, Paolo et al. “Japanese
shoes (Geta).” Domus, 21 July 2016. https://www.domusweb.it/en/news/2016/07/21/
fake_in_italy.html.
39 A still from TV series Portlandia, Photoshopped to feature the author on the Peacock
chair. Author’s own.
79
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The Peacock Chair
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81
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