Simmer Down collection by Robert George – Photo by Gavin wallace Photography, courtesy of Collect or the artist.
Crafts – With the Simmer Down collection Robert George showcases a humble and skillful approach to craft, drawing from his job as an arborist. “As someone who has spent over 15 years climbing, studying and ultimately cutting trees, it would be impossible not to develop a fascination with wood,” George told Archipanic.
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About 2000 crafted elements compose the four pieces on show at Collect Open, Collect’s platform for emerging talents. Simmer Down explores different ranges in height and texture. Either being covered in burnt vessels or textured with a handheld gouge, the sculptures “explore a narrative based around the hectic nature of life, when sometimes the noise of news channels, social media, workloads and other pressures can become so great that we need to just stop for a moment and take stock of what our values are.”
“Arborist came before wood artist,” George told Archipanic. “I have no university degree or training in design rather, my practice has been informed by my work, drawing on my years in the canopies to find naturally pleasing aesthetics and textures.” Indeed, the used material is mainly gathered from George’s climbing and felling work.
Depending on its size and condition, timber is then transported to his yard or the local sawmill. Anything for the lathe is turned as soon as possible whilst the wood is still green. This allows the wood to reveal its tensions as the moisture leaves. Each piece has been turned, hand-carved, burnt and treated with Iron Acetate or bleached.
The rough and smooth surfaces are to provide a sensory cue, “taking us back to moments in nature touching smooth stones or rough bark of trees whilst the scale of the works themselves are so large you can put your arms around them fully. In these moments of touching and exploring the works, it is intended that the noise will be forgotten and a moment of calm is created.”
As well as touch, Simmer Down bears different scents and unexpected aesthetic qualities. “Bleached and polished Sycamore has an almost porcelain-like appearance whilst scorched Oak can almost take on metallic qualities, these different characteristics cause the viewer to question whether or not the work they see before them really is wood.” Openings in the vessels or the depth of the work invites the viewer to peer in and smell the works, “Oak is instantly recognisable, Ash is sweet and Walnut is rich even someone who does not work wood is able to tell the differences.”
With Simmer Down, Robert George distills hardworking with a multisensorial intimacy and a humble attitude. “Climbing a tree which is 100ft tall in a gale or rain and feeling every limb and section of stem twist and turn, feeling as though it could fail at any moment can only be humbling. Spending time in the canopy of a 200-year-old Sycamore tree whilst the world races by is humbling, as is tidying the fallen remains of a 500-year-old Oak.”
“Lifting heavy sections of timber, sorting and stacking branches is hard work, any period of time spent dealing with trees and the intense labour it requires is enough to make anyone respect nature. To then be able to create something beautiful or imposing from these sections of wood feels like a great honour.”
All photos: courtesy of Collect and the artist.
