Mineral crystals grown on thin threads form the shape of a chair in this installation by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka.

Tokujin Yoshioka created the Spider's Thread sculpture of a chair by suspending just seven filaments within a frame that was sat in a pool of mineral solution.

The solution was drawn up the threads and gradually formed into crystals around them, fleshing out into the shape of a piece of furniture.

The project is a development of Yoshioka's earlier Venus chair, where crystals were grown on a sponge-like substrate.

"Spider's Thread applies the structure of natural crystals in an advanced way aiming to produce a form even closer to the natural form," said Yoshioka.

The designer says this iteration references a traditional story by Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa. "The Buddha takes a thread of a spider in Heaven and lowers it down to Hell so that the criminal can climb up from Hell to Paradise," explains Yoshioka. "In the story, the thread of a spider is a symbol of slight hope and fragility."

The piece is on show as part of a solo exhibition called Tokujin Yoshioka_Crystallize at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo until 19 Janueary 2014.

There are three crystal chairs in the exhibition to show the different stages of growth.

Yoshioka is known for his barely-there designs, and past work includes transparent plastic furniture that resembles cut-crystal glasses, a watch with a see-through strap and a tank of flying feathers.

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