Abundance Rejected

Over the last few years, driven by a warmer and drier climate, bark beetles have been ravaging Belgian spruce forests causing the death of millions of trees. Usually valued as structural and carpentry timber, the infected spruces are downgraded by the wood industry, in particular because of a fungus that turns the wood blue once the trees die. Although the wood appears weaker, the physical properties remain intact. Throughout his research, Raphael Breuskin explored the contrasts between the wood industry and the consumer’s eye. The outcome is a collection of furniture that invites touching, sitting and exploring the downgraded trees in order to question our need for perfect materials.