Protoplasting Nature
The ancient Greek word πρωτόπλαστος (prōtóplastos) denominates what is ‘first-formed' – as in the biological term protoplast, which describes an entire cell (e.g. of a plant or a fungus) without its cell wall. In Protoplasting Nature, developed since 2018, we were interested in creating pieces that would be built with botanic elements, prone to biological cycles of growth and decay, featured on the surface of the piece like an ever-evolving skin – or an organic curtain wall. Clad on a filigree, skeleton-like framework hand-welded using steel wire, the one-off prototypes referenced traditional, ornate furniture where floral motifs were carved or applied onto their structures as decoration.
The organic tissue – once a motif curved in wood – becomes the timber itself.
Initially, we dreamt of creating pieces that – featuring unprotected, natural foliage – would be subject to a full vegetative cycle, allowing us to observe the inevitable seasonality of the coating. Large, discarded leaves of species such as Strelitzia Reginae and, later, Thaumatococcus Daniellii, collected from befriended flower growers and shop owners, were clasped onto the metal frames, slowly shrinking and holding onto their new, artisanal bodies while moisture gradually evaporated from their tissues.
The colour palette of the piece would change from initial vivid greens to deep autumnal ochre and bronze, and the natural discolouration of the botanic material would be followed by the ultimate wintry collapse when the leaves dehydrated, dried and crumbled, revealing the barren metal structure once again. This utopian idea was followed by the urge to preserve one’s own creation. Guided by the need to solidify and preserve, the leaves were coated with a layer of resin that enabled us to maintain the solidity of the biological tissue while simultaneously allowing sunlight to penetrate and discolour it. With further development, we have used a custom-developed thermo-coating process to metallise the resulting pieces with zinc and bronze. Once polished, the effect imitated traditional metal casting. Still, the botanic tissue remained, captured within.
In Protoplasting Nature 04, discarded leaves are collated at different stages of their life cycle, from freshly cut, to decaying and naturally dried over time, transforming from lively greens into gentle silvery bronzes. Created from organic ingredients, the piece has an element of life on its own. Processes of deconstruction, renewal and reconstruction make us focus on the impermanence of the object and, therefore, our unique relationship with it. By utilising a variety of new materials and techniques to produce objects that alter rapidly in appearance or simply disappear, we focus on the gradual progression towards collapse and decay, life and rebirth, hoping to discover new connections between humans and the surrounding natural and material world.
| YEAR: 2017-Ongoing |
TEAM: Marcin Rusak Tessa Silva Tamara Pilawska-Baranowska Przemyslaw Lepszy Adam Bialek Mateusz Wappa |
SPECIALISTS: Marcin Rusak Studio |
EXHIBITIONS: Bio 28, Ljubljana Bio 27, Ljubljana Flora Contemporaria, Twenty First Gallery Unnatural Practice, Ordet, Milan Encoded Symbols, Carwan Gallery, Athens Nature of Things II, Victor Horta Museum, Brussels |