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The Decay of Time functional sculpture series by John Brevard celebrates the natural beauty of our world by using ancient, timeless materials from sustainable sources. Each piece is hand-made and hand-polished; therefore no two pieces are the same. For this collection, Brevard traveled the world, collecting coral that had washed ashore from beaches due to climate change and the acidification of our oceans. Believing the natural beauty of the coral should be preserved, the coral pieces were then placed in molds, with recycled zinc poured into the cast. The coral is burned out as the molten metal cools, leaving a beautiful yet haunting imprint set into the zinc. To contrast the cool, rugged texture of the cast zinc, Brevard inlays petrified wood into the zinc and polishes it by hand to a smooth sheen. The finished products are pieces of history set in poured molten metal, frozen in time.
This piece was created by placing old coral into earth clay. The clay is made into a mold and zinc is casted with petrified wood, burning out the coral. This piece brings attention to humanity's poisoning of the oceans and the destruction of oceanic life.
Materials:
Zinc is essential for the environment. Zinc is a natural element and plays an essential role in the biological processes of all humans, animals and plants. Zinc is an essential micronutrient for human health. Zinc can be recycled infinitely without loss of properties and quality. In addition to being sustainable during use, zinc also plays an important role during the end-of-life phase by reducing energy use, lowering emissions and minimizing waste disposal. In Brevard’s pieces, zinc provides high structural integrity and outstanding corrosion resistance. A thin layer of resin is applied to the table to seal the zinc and enhance comfort on skin.
Petrified Wood: Harder to cut than steel, the petrified wood used in Brevard’s works have solidified from trees into stone over hundreds of millions of years. All pieces are extracted in a sustainable manner with the utmost care. Brevard and his team search for the tips of these petrified trees emerging slightly from the ground in Indonesian rainforests. Using a skilled team of excavators, they carefully dig around each piece to slowly remove them. The pieces are not extracted with heavy machinery nor any forest damaging equipment. Extractions generally take 4 to 8 weeks and several labor crews of over 15 people involved. Once the material reaches the warehouse, the designer spends weeks to cut and polish one piece. Petrified wood can only be cut with diamond saws and diamond polishing pads because of the density of the material. It takes more than a full day to cut one small slab of petrified wood, not to mention the additional months it takes to create just one piece of functional sculpture. Each piece of petrified wood used in Brevard’s creations has a unique color, pattern, and grain. Due to the provenance, the color tones tend to range between white and dark brown/black. Therefore, each piece is truly unique.
Available for immediate delivery.
Type: Lifestyle
Category: Decay of Time, Furniture, Morphogen, Petrified Wood, Zinc
