Feather Branches

Year 2023
Sculpture
170/190/H295mm
Oak Wood

Exhibited at Gallery Lokal, 2023

Wood splinters are treated as an imperfection to a smooth surface in general, and they are subsequently planned. Wood Feathers subverts this notion, deliberately and repeatedly creating wood chips. This method is not taking away the excess material to craft a determined form but keeps the original shape and creates a second skin covering it. The sculpting process is made by repeating the cuts densely to form a feather-like surface, transforming the hardness of the wood into something soft and tactile. The resulting wood feather is thin, light, and fragile, resembling living creatures' fur or pelt.

Through the repetitive process of chipping, the increasing number of feathers slowly changes the nature of the wood. Once the surface is covered with a certain amount of feathers, another life form emerges. From a distance, the feathers appear identical. Upon closer inspection, however, each presents its own shape and length. Each new feather makes a subtle change to the overall look of the sculpture, each encapsulates a crucial moment in the crafting process, and each is testimony to the beauty of slow and continual change. The process in itself is a reflection of the natural, steady, and organic growth of a tree trunk. The result, on the other hand, presents the audience with a new way of experiencing wood as a soft and living material.