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A woven mass of cherry and maple, this CDW Presents installation combines the different approaches of designer-maker Sebastian Cox and artist Laura Ellen Bacon Measuring 3m high and 1.5m wide, this collaborative installation by furniture maker Sebastian Cox and sculptor Laura Ellen Bacon fills the space under St John’s Gate with a curvaceous volume of interlocking wooden elements.
Supported by the American Hardwood Export Council, the piece builds on the craft of both practitioners – functional techniques such as dry joining and steam bending for Cox, and Bacon’s intricate hand-weaving of malleable wooden strips – but the pair have used the experience as an opportunity to exchange skills. “We haven’t divided this piece into two,” Cox says. “Laura is as heavily engaged with the cabinetry aspect of the piece and the external frame as I am with the woven, sculptural elements of the installation.”
Cox and Bacon also share a deep concern for sustainability, which has informed their choice of wood species. “Cherry and maple grow very well in the US but don’t sell, so they’re an under-used resource,” explains Cox. The pair will carry out a life-cycle assessment of the entire project, and aim for it to emit less carbon than the production of an iPhone 6+. St John’s Arch, Clerkenwell, 19-21 May 2015 |
Words Laura Snoad |
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