Elias Stent, You are the centre of your own scorched island (RECYCLED & RESCUED 2023)

Photos:

Elias Stent

Country:

Australia

“You are the centre of your own scorched island” After hearing this line in 2019’s Bushland at Ten Days on the Island audio experience by British art duo French & Mottershead. I knew I wanted to create a piece that encapsulated this one extraordinary line. This phrase has been turning in my head for sometime and one day I saw a piece of eucalypt burl sitting in a friends wood pile which was set to become firewood. Most eucalypts require fire to complete their cycle of reproduction, so after salvaging this piece I decided this wood burl would still have a purpose after scorching. The eucalypt wood responded well to the burning by creating a rich matte black colouring, with there being no need to add any addition stains. The textured layer of ridges along the asymmetric rim creates a barrier to the outer scorched edge. This surrounding island of scorched black wood creates a beautiful backdrop and highlights the burls grain pattern and asymmetric nature. The nature of the wood burl ensures that any reproduced piece would be wholly unique, lending to our own experiences and standing to the test of time.

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