Salvaged Gems

A vast amount of the wood that is painstakingly harvested is crushed and burned once it has fulfilled its first purpose. This wood is often perfectly good for many more uses. Gems tries to reconnect us to this material store, demonstrating that our attention and craft can elevate “waste” to the level of a treasure. 

Gems is made entirely from “waste” wood found on dump sites. The sculpture is handcrafted using traditional woodworking techniques. The veneering process enables large surface areas to be covered using few, small pieces of wood. Many of the veneers are made from pieces under 30cm which cannot usually be safely machined.

Gems continues the material exploration of Wood Shrine (2022) presenting an emotive yet practical light sculture from waste wood veneers aranged in a crystal formation.

Photo credit: Kazuma Miyajima