Adrian Duyn, Kintsugi (RECYCLED & RESCUED 2023)

Photos:

Eoghan Kavanagh

Country:

Ireland

Kintsugi was born from a storm damaged tree that had come down with high winds. Luckily the land owner knew the significance of the tree and the value of its timber. Having it cut into ‘cookies’ or slices, stacked and air dried for 5 years. Monterey Cypress or more commonly known as Macrocarpa is a commanding iconic large fast growing evergreen conifer, native to California. It is very common in the Irish landscape and was commonly planted close to period properties as a status symbol. The timber has the most beautiful wavy features in its grain and a lustrous fresh scent when working it. This storm felled timber we decided was to be sculpted and carved into a set of coffee tables that marry together or can be used separately in the same space. Inspiration in creating our interlocking ‘Kintsugi’ table came from a natural split in the timber, resulting in two interlocking pieces split down the centre growth ring. Many would cast aside this piece and hunt for a perfect whole piece or cookie slice of the tree. However the philosophy of Kinstugi and thus this table grew to acknowledge life’s little defects. The deep soft knots visible on the top needed to be cleaned out and rather than fill with an obvious filler or try to camouflage we decided on using a Japanese method called 'Kintsugi' a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections. Mostly done in pottery and ceramics we took inspiration from the methods and in this case gilded the hollow knots with 24ct pure gold leaf. Finished in white natural oil highlighting the 110 years of growth in the grain detail. We used a water based black lacquer for the legs to contrast from the tops and define them as a separate structure. The arches in the leg detail help give a flow to the pieces, as when the tables are connected as one, the arches transcend to each other.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.