Build-Burn-Repeat: Expressing the complexity of wood through craft objects

Abstract

Abstract This practice-led research project uses the explorative nature of craft to investigate the complexities of wood by manufacturing a series of brooches and larger objects. These works are made from tens to hundreds of wooden segments assembled in a complex matrix. Rules are established to create a core structure for all the works. Each work is then transformed by fire, eroding and unifying the surface, which is cleaned to reveal the wood's grain structure in a unique way that connects to the material's organic origins. These two processes are developed and evolved over each successive work in a cumulative exploration of what makes something complex. The generative automatic aspect of rules is examined against intentionality and control within the developed process and the effect this has on the complexity of the works. This project begins with wood and my interest in answering the primary research question: How can craft as process transform wood using rule-based systems and intuitive methods to construct objects that engage viewers with the complexity of the material? The project's material investigation is founded upon craft and its unique ability to link skill, process, tradition and use to human emotions and values. Craft, as a mode of material investigation, creates a set of limitations but is not bound by them. It invites subversion, experimentation and invention, which in turn creates a distinctive method of inquiry suited to exploring the complexities of wood. The duality of wood is then reflected in works. I aim to express wood's complexity by creating works that appear constructed yet simultaneously formed by nature. These human-made objects present the viewer with a visual puzzle, an ambiguous entity that elicits mystery and surprise. This encourages deeper engagement and questions the object's history and origin. I achieve this by inventing novel processes that combine constrained rule-based and intuitive adaptive approaches. My system is tested and developed throughout the research project via a series of explorations - works that interrogate my contrasting processes and are used to analyse other artists' works and broader research. The result is a series of unique works that reflect wood's complexity, mystery and wonder.