Barnaby Wright, Wall mounted wave console table (WORLD 2023)

Photos:

Michael Pawley - @michael.pawley.photographer

Country:

United Kingdom (Great Britain)

Project Brief - The project started life simply, from an exercise in drawing a single line. Although keen to develop this initial unconscious mark, it swiftly became apparent that its true essence lay in its stripped down elegance, with a profound sense of purpose and an inherent emotion. There then followed an almost obsessional desire to strip out any visual complication and puffery from the piece. Front on, one is left with a rectangle atop a wave, a box on a ripple, but when combined “the whole is more than the sum of its parts”. The piece can be drawn in two lines lifting the pencil from the page just once. The box has an angular, slab-like appearance that contrasts with the fluidity of the wave that supports it. The slab appears marble like, heavy and solid. It gives nothing away. The wave itself is deliberately thin and tapers, adding a sense of weakness and vulnerability. The slab appears to balance on top of the wave supported by the merest of contacts at one end while overhanging the other. This wave should not be carrying the burden of the heavy slab, but it does so uncomplaining. Construction Process = The predominant material used for the box is 15mm MDF, lipped in Solid Maple, meticulously joined together with precision mitred corners and secured with biscuits. The back of the box is made in Solid Rippled Sycamore The rippled Sycamore veneer wraps over the top, ends and front of the box allowing the grain to flow, giving the box a "slab like" appearance. The inside is balanced with Sycamore veneer. The wave consists of 18 sheets of European Smoked Oak veneer laminated together using WestSystem and bag pressed over a large mould. This was then cut to a taper and finished by hand. The false drawer fronts are veneered in solid Rippled Sycamore (in order to facilitate meticulous grain matching). The drawer sides are quarter sawn Bog Oak with hand cut dovetails with 3mm pins. The drawer base is 6mm MDF veneered in European Smoked Oak and Rippled Sycamore, with matching hand cut wave detail. The drawer pull is recessed and shaped in Bog Oak. The drawers, box and wave were all sealed, cut back and spray lacquered before the box was joined to the wave using dominoes and 5mm steel rods. A small angled fillet veneered in the European Smoked Oak allows for a good join between the edge of the box and the wave. This is designed to be virtually invisible to the eye.

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