In the lower levels of Somerset House, you’ll find a touching exhibition by British Designer Max Lamb. The atmospheric Embankment Gallery houses Lamb’s latest installation My Grandfather’s Tree, in association with Gallery FUMI. Created for London Design Festival, the installation is comprised of 130 individual logs, all from the designer’s Grandfather’s garden.
The tree in question is an old Ash tree that started to rot on the land of the designer’s grandfather’s farm in Yorkshire. It was posing structural danger to a nearby cottage and was subsequently felled. Lamb worked with tree surgeon Jon Turnbull to dissect the tree from the top downwards, cutting it into sections at regular intervals with the idea of turning them into a collection of tables, stools and chairs. Each section displays the 187 annual growth rings of the tree and can now continue with a new life, function and history.
Lamb has been careful not to process the sections to much of an extent to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the tree. It’s very touching to think that the designer is giving little parts of his history to the public to create new stories elsewhere. This way his grandfather’s tree can live on and become a part of someone else’s life.
Visit My Grandfather’s Tree in the Embankment Gallery of Somerset house until Saturday 26th September and let us know what you think of the exhibition on Twitter.
Off to root around for more incredible design,
David & Mark x
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