‘Reconfiguration Of A Tree’ Research Project by Thomas Vailly.

Samples of pine and resin by studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

Material research by studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

Initiated by Eindhoven-based Studio Thomas Vaillly, “Reconfiguration Of a Tree” is a research project that brings together the work of four Dutch designers focusing on Pinus Pinaster (Mediterranean Pine), a resinous tree harvested for its pitch (also known as resin or sap).

Thomas Vaillly took a natural element – the pine tree – and ripped it apart, rearranging its elements into man made materials. The result is an abstraction of a tree – a shiny black matter joining, coating, blending-in and contrasting with pine.

“Natural materials are building blocks – biopolymers, sticky tar, flexible fibres or stiff binders,” explains Vaillly. “When combined, they turn into a man made material. The ubiquity of synthetic substances minimise our interest for existing natural solutions. The focus is now on developing synthetic materials from scratch through heavy chemical processing. This project proposes to go back to the basic and use natural building blocks to develop materials.”

Wallwood by David Deerksen for studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

Clogs by Lex Pott for studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

Exercise in Pine I by Gardar Eyjolfsson for studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

Exercise in Pine II by Gardar Eyjolfsson for studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

Sixpan by studio Thomas Vailly. Photo by Floor Knaapen.

To reveal the full potential of the material, black resin and pine timber were also delivered to David Derksen, Gardar Eyjolfsson and Lex Pott, who each reconfigured a part of the tree into various objects.

Lex Pott reinterpreted the traditional Dutch clogs in into a contemporary wooden shoe. David Derksen created a room divider made from 350 timber ‘bricks’, forming a sculptural wall held together by black pine resin. Gardar Eyjolfsson took a more conceptual approach by creating a series of objects titled ‘Exercises in Pine I & II’. Thomas Vaillly’s Sixpan is a collection stools and tall stands, featuring a bold graphic pattern applied to the seat.

“Reconfiguration Of a Tree” was Made possible with the support of Creative Industries Fund NL.