Entangled in the urban landscape, we easily forget how inextricably linked human life is to that of the tree. No wonder that the forest brings about a tangible calm in us – it largely enabled the evolution of our physical bodies and society. From the moment our ancestors descended from the tree, we have wielded wood to advance. Like Prometheus, it brought us fire, thereby giving us warmth, light, nourishment, tools, and shelter. It allowed us to expand our realm of possibility.
It is likely that wood surrounds you as you go about your day. In the fabric of architecture and space, furniture and objects. The material is deeply embedded in our existence. It takes another form, yet its spirit remains. As we continue the age-old enterprise of extraction, from forests that provide for us, we easily overlook how that existence in many parts is owed to the long age of a tree. A reserve for time.
It is this perspective on time that has occupied Christian+Jade as they investigate the innate beauty and immense complexity of the Japanese forest. An expansion of vision. By recognizing the age of wood, we can begin to understand our own smallness in the vastness of time. And lean into the wisdom of the woodlands.
The forest bears witness. To a time before us, stretching into a future beyond us. The tree grows in layers around dead cells of heartwood, their structure and spine – it stands on the shoulders of yesterday. In an era where many of us are losing access to or pining for a more meaningful connection to nature, The Age of Wood seeks to investigate ideas of age, time, and patina in the context of a Japanese woodland. Alongside Karimoku, Christian+Jade chisel out a new vision for timelessness, as human beings, stewards, and form givers.
The exhibition charts the age of wood through time
Centuries of a Forest traces the diversity of trees that live in the Japanese forests and the centuries of transformation they have witnessed, unearthing its stories by merging craftsmanship and inquiry. According to the design duo, these trees are not just resources; they are witnesses to time, bearing scars and signs of growth that tell stories of the past. Their exploration takes shape in the design exhibition’s centerpiece: a wooden ‘Library’ archiving 63 wood species collected by Karimoku. Individual trays reveal fragments of a tree’s story; a leaf, a seed or a piece of bark, offering visitors a tangible link to wood’s historical significance.
Years of a Tree leans on the language of the wood itself to reveal the unsaid. Physical objects are spun from the trunk, communicating a sense of identity by highlighting signs of age, time, and growth in its body. These simple gestures invite a new understanding. Delicately crafted pieces highlight the beauty of modularity and structural integrity. Displayed as small sculptures and experiments on a podium in front of the window, they further invite us to rethink wood; not as a lifeless commodity but as a living record of time.
Ageing with Wood is a reminder that time does not stop, even after a tree falls. In its stillness, wood continues to breathe, shrinking in the cold of winter and expanding in the warmth of the sun. It accumulates scratches and marks, like memories etched into its surface. Time weaves through wood’s grain, through every curve and contour, revealing the hours and years, the lifetime that resides within. The design duo have crafted three sculptures that urge one to value the longevity and character of wood rather than simply viewing it as a disposable material. Touch, a kinetic piece where a pendulum engraves marks into walnut wood, symbolizes the traces time leaves on all living things. Sunlight, a UV lighting design sculpture darkens cherry wood, echoing its exposure to sunlight and Moisture, which responds to humidity, shifts between drooping and straightened forms.
