Fretting Traces

Project background

German forests are in a bad shape: More than 20% of the nationwide spruce wood supply became available as unscheduled calamity wood between 2018 and 2022. The main reason for this massive economic and ecological fallout has been attributed to the spread of the spruce bark beetle. The bark beetle acts as a disturbance in a system that is geared towards economic efficiency and thus questions the human sovereignty in the use of natural resources.

A collection of veneers from discarded wood

The aim of the material research is to explore new potentials of the resulting so-called calamity wood. It is investigating how the bark beetle can become a carrier of future-oriented narratives for the sustainable use of resources. The collection of veneers displayed here showcases the ornamental properties of the beetle’s feeding galleries and the blue stain in the timber which occurs after infestation.

Fretting Traces in three-dimensional space

The value of wood is usually measured in its material properties. Can the staging of the fretting marks be a way to give the wood a new, symbolic meaning? This curtain design reproduces the fretting marks as a negative in a three-dimensional space and enlarges the structures so that they can be better experienced by the viewer - also haptically and not only as a relief. The structure represents nature on a more abstract level and thus offers the possibility to get to know its beauty and peculiarity detached from the wood context.