Size: 192” long x 84” high x 4”deep Material- Reclaimed Hemlock timbers, CNC-cut, burned, oiled 2012

Installed in the lobby of the Four-Seasons Hotel, Residential tower in Toronto.

To create the work, the end-grain of a large, Hemlock log was left to weather for a number of years, until the annual rings stood out in relief. The texture created was captured digitally in three-dimensions and scaled to 60 times its actual size. This pattern was then cut into the surface of a large wooden panel composed of reclaimed wooden timbers. The timbers are roof purlins from a demolished wooden aircraft hangar at Pearson Airport, once the Malton Airport terminal.

The annual rings of growth laid down by a living tree are a record of the conditions in the old-growth forest where it grew. This pattern, however is only revealed when the tree is cut. Saw-marks left from the cutting of the tree are recorded in the pattern, marking the transition from a living tree to a structural component in a building. The third phase in the life of the material, as a part of this work, aims to be a reminder of the properties of wood and the physical processes that shape it, both natural and artificial.