Cigarettes have uses other than weakening you to the point of almost coughing your own lung: that is, being raw material for art. People who go to VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) might get surprised at one of the pieces displayed there: a 440-pound rug made entirely out of cigarettes.
This piece was created by the Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing. He’s sort of a pioneer of mixing up tobacco and art in projects, and has created many pieces trough out the last decade. The weird part is that, seen from afar, this cigarette tiger skin rug actually does look like something an eccentric millionaire would have in his place, decorating a dark room where he goes to read and spend some alone time. Let’s just hope it’s not too close to a chimney, though, as this looks pretty flammable.
This cigarette tiger skin rug is the third in Xu Bing’s series called the Tobacco Project. It sure as hell doesn’t look comfy, but it would be worse if they were lit anyways. His other, previous pieces are also exhibited along with this rug, for the curious.
If you want to see more rugs, click 14 Off-the-wall Animal Rugs For the Animal Lover (& Hunter) in You and 20 Geekiest Rug Designs.
