Brandon Harrison, Pan's Shadow (TABLES, CHAIRS, DESKS 2022)

Photos:

Daniel Mulheran

A name that speaks to the boyish nature of a chair built in the buoyancy of experimentation. At its core, this chair is about playing with new techniques. The chair is made from Tasmanian Oak, and a process of scorching with fire to relieve soft grain structure leaves the chair with a heavily textured surface (Shou Sugi Ban). Both the seat and backrest are constructed from shop-made moulded ply and allows the legs and supports to connect directly to the seat and remove the need for rails and aprons for structural integrity. While blackening the wood could have been done with stains and tints, it was the allure of the unknown that drew me to choose fire. I had only attempted this process once before on a straight section of wood and wanted to see how it would work with crisp joinery, and plywood with its edges of alternating grain. While future iterations will mature the piece, Pan’s Shadow remains steadfast in the playfulness of eternal youth. "We must play - but we must play seriously" - Hans J. Wegner

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