Stack
Planks of Sequoia Gigantea, Aluminum Cast, Stainless Bolts
For Legacy residency program at Schloss Hollenegg for Design, 2018
Stack is a functional arrangement of timber planks. Due to the characteristic cast metal frames, wooden material can rest and dry for years whilst the stack may be used like one finished piece of furniture. When the time has come to use a plank and build something from it, it can be extracted from the stack and processed without affecting the functionality of the arrangement. This system extents the ritual of planting a tree to the point where that memorable tree dies and must be cut down.
The Stack project is the result of a residency at Schloss Hollenegg for Design in Summer 2017. Alice Liechtenstein, the curator developed a briefing regarding the topic "legacy" and invited several studios to create new projects at the castle.
During the stay, we tried to find a way to tell a story about the legacy of the family, the place and ourselfes as artists. The old huge Sequoia tree in the garden captured our attention even before we noticed that it was struck by lightning a few years ago. Due to safety regulation the dead tree needed to be cut down so we picked the opportunity and decided to work with its timber. By researching clues about the tree's history we found an old travel - diary of Heinrich von Liechtenstein, an ancestor and former inhabitant of the castle. He discribes how he admired the giant redwood trees during his stay in California in the late 1870ies and that he took along seeds in order to plant such impressive trees in his own garden.
The dead tree was cut to boards and arranged to become a table and benches through the stack concept. This arrangement may provide a center for the family in their home - a place where stories get told and legacy builds up. Maybe, one day a piece of the arrangement will become a new type of furniture and add another layer to Prinz Heinrichs legacy.
photographs by Leonhard Hilzensauer
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