In studying how wooden surfaces interact with various mediums, I chose to revert a broken wooden chair to its “original” form — a tree. Using modeling paste and a palette knife, I gradually built up the texture of tree rings on the chair’s seat. I explored the technique of decoupaging, or layering wet paper, to mimic the roughness of a tree’s bark on the legs of the chair. Finally, I bandaged the broken back of the chair and painted the bandage with patterns resembling sun rays filtering through leaves. This transformation reflects the healing process: after trauma, the body rebuilds itself, layer by layer. Though it may not fully return to its original state, it endures, displaying a unique beauty born from resilience.
The image above showcases the process of creating the final sculpture, from planning out the placement of light rays to building up layers of modeling paste.
