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Burl; Diamond of the Forest
Etymologically deriving from Middle English ‘burle’ meaning ‘a knot or flaw in cloth’, from the Old French ‘bourre’- ‘flocks or ends of threads which disfigure cloth’.
Burls are complex knots in trees formed from underdeveloped buds who’s growth becomes frictive with the uniformity of the surrounding grain. Inside these complex twists and knots we can discover an abundant labyrinth of suppressed and complicated pasts; buds of lost life and countless potential, enclosed by constraints of regularity and uniformity. Burls cannot be removed; they are an integral part of the tree. A growing-pain to find pride in.
Craftspeople in the 1970’s begun to reclaim burl wood for its aesthetic allure, often using it to veneer extravagant automobiles with prized interiors. Serendipitously aligning with moments of queer liberation, the presence of this materiality represents a moment in time. Following this movement, timber producers ceased their attempts to industrially cull and regulate burls from tree growth.
“People will be themselves when you stop punishing them for it.” @mattxiv
Let these burls, the kernels of our complex pasts, be our dobby sock. This crusty stained textile sheath allows us our key to freedom. Passed to us by our forefathers. Our holding it represents this freedom, carrying our pasts into our futures. Crusty socks and twisted grain; once erased and silenced, now freed and unconstrained.
Thankful for those interlopers that forcefully reached between paradigms, chastising our oppression to enable our complex presence as innate, usual and unavoidable. Let nature continue to grow in all its queer shapes and burly protrusions. A kink in the cloth.
“For young kids to be able to say, ‘Cool, I’ll watch Glee tonight and then go to a gay bar’ – that is an incredible gift that’s been handed down. But we must pay respect and remember where that gift came from.” @russelltovey
‘To be remembered by those left behind is to be remembered forever’ Quote from an unidentified panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt
Made possible by @stimuleringsfonds
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homodelicatus
bowl
ceramic, glaze, pla, resin, concrete, steel
DM for enquiries,
read more at leomaher.xyz/works/homo-delicatus2
figure 3d model: ‘Jüngling vom Magdalensberg’ courtesy of @oliverlaric and threedscans.com
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Little ‘Blossom II’
Happy to be showing this as part of ‘You Can Sit With Us 2’ in collaboration with @2lgstudio and @haricotgallery . Show opens tomorrow 29/08 through 21/09.
A little blossom squeezed out from the end of a summer spent gathering small timbers drifting through nature.
Table Lamp
Drift wood, Glass, Dowel, Polyurethane, Light Fixture, Dimmer Switch
