“Oak in Time”
A very special, never to
be repeated marquetry oak cabinet.
By designing and utilizing
natural variations of colour and light reflective qualities of the oak
over the whole cabinet I have attempted to show the great variations and
beauty of this versatile & quintessential English wood, and have aimed
to show the life, growth and regeneration in symbolic form within.
This piece is unique, it took one
whole year to make and is made up of over 7,500 individual pieces of English
oak.
Oak in Time
was one of the key pieces made for a major
exhibition project called “onetree” in all a three year undertaking 1999 – 2002.
Seventy five renowned British artists, furniture designer/makers' and wood
craftsman were brought together to use all the parts from one oak tree. The tree
grew for 170 years in managed woodland at Tatton Park, (The National Trust)
Cheshire and was donated for the project. An accompanying book was published to
complement the one year exhibition, that achieved international interest.
Since the exhibition, this cabinet
has not been on public view and is only available by personal appointment.
A full historical record of the
concepts for the project, and this cabinet, have been collected to accompany
this special piece and gives it the provenance future generations will cherish.
