Tension. Intervention. Balance. Phoebe Oldfield’s series of three sculptures explore the delicate equilibrium of the woodland system.
Designer and maker Phoebe Oldfield’s series of three sculptures, A State of Equilibrium, form part of the latest Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures display, titled Field Notes. Situated within The Dr Susan Weber Gallery of Furniture, Field Notes is a meditation on forestry, sustainability and timber production – a fitting tribute to the material that dominates the gallery space.
The display presents the work of 12 practitioners who together attended a woodland ‘summer school’, arranged in collaboration with the environmental charity Sylva Foundation. Over the course of two weeks, participants with backgrounds in art, design and architecture immersed themselves in the world of woodlands; combining hands-on workshops with conceptual discussion of issues such as woodland management, land use, ownership, access and inclusion.
Along the way, the Field Notes alumni worked with responsibly sourced timber to produce a reflection of their woodland learnings, experiencing first-hand the challenges and opportunities inherent to working with such a local, natural material. Ultimately, each participant created a tangible statement, prompting us to re-examine the very ecosystems that provided their material composition and shedding light on the future of forests and forestry.
Struck by the dynamic, interconnected and often precarious nature of woodlands, Phoebe chose to craft sculptures that capture this tension within their physicality. Acting as visual metaphors for the delicate balance of nature, each constituent part represents the various ‘stakeholders’ of a woodland, illustrating that the removal of any such part potentially causes the collapse of the system. The sculpture’s oval intrusion disrupts the path of its wooden planes, paralleling how human intervention alters the natural harmony of a woodland.
To achieve structural integrity within her sculptures, Phoebe turned to what she considers the ‘universal symbol of stability’ – the wedge. Combining wedges with a dowel, these supplementary interventions are shown to sustain the system, to hold it together in stasis, demonstrating that with proper support and understanding, symbiosis can be achieved. However, the ‘jeopardy’ of testing something to its limits, of pushing it to breaking point, is palpable. Furthermore, Phoebe was intrigued by the wedge’s historical use as a tool in tree felling. Though the cutting down of trees is commonly regarded with apprehension, in reality it forms an important part of woodland management.
Beyond the structure of her sculptures, Phoebe made a further evocative statement with her choice of materials. Utilising a mix of ash, birch, Douglas fir, elm and oak timbers, Phoebe hoped to highlight their beauty and individuality and echo how the coexistence of multiple tree species within one woodland system can bring harmony and benefit the whole.
