Earth Stone Wood is a debut furniture series of The Whole Elements, brand set up by designer and visual artist Anna Bera.
Earth Stone Wood refers to the pagan spirituality of ancient Slavs which formed the foundation of the contemporary Polish culture. Forests of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, the oldest mountain range in Poland and one of the oldest ranges in Europe, still hide stone circles which, according to ancient beliefs, are places of power emanating a unique energy. First, I had examined ancient Slavic places of worship seeking traces of spirituality expressed through rites and objects. Then, I translated them into a modern design language.
The highest summit of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains was once encircled by a massive “Pagan Wall” in the shape of a flattened ellipse, composed of huge quartzite boulders. In the ESW project I analyse the structure of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains' ortoquartzite rock in order to bring back the energy of the forms that have shaped our collective consciousness throughout centuries.
The form of the ESW furniture is a naturalistic study of a specific quartzite rock I have found in a forest. The aim of the project was to create a functional piece of furniture by bringing a fragment of natural landscape indoors. This ambition was based on the assumption that this landscape, just like the nature in general, can be characterised by a coexistence of order and chaos.
Due to its dynamic nature, the irregular solid, inspired by the trigonal crystal system, changes completely its visual aspect depending on light and perspective. Thanks to a set of separate elements one can do both systematic and random arrangements, and the aim of the dynamic spatial relations between the elements is to introduce the changeability typical of natural landscapes. A single element can serve as a table, a seat, or a storage unit; it also allows the user to recline and rest. In addition to that, a set of two or more elements can be combined to form a cabinet. A set of all the elements constitutes a piece of multifunctional and modular furniture. Earth Stone Wood comes in two forms and three finishing versions.
In the process of civilization man has lost his connection to nature. We no longer experience either its randomness, or its hidden order and purpose. Although the inhabitants of the Polish countryside still mark the boundaries of their land with a stone, they are often unaware of the fact that by doing so they are repeating an ancient pagan ritual. Since the process of industrialisation is only a tiny fraction of the human history, and our bodies have been evolving in contact with nature for millions of years, I strongly believe that it is the mission of contemporary designers to create spaces relating to the natural environment and its attributes, such as mystery, hidden order, changeability, sensory richness, and dynamic natural light.
Technical details: Earth material: burnt cherry timber, finish: oil, height: 50 cm, length: 100 cm, width: 40 cm Handmade in Poland. Stone material: reclaimed fir, finish: oil, height: 50 cm, length: 100 cm, width: 40 cm Handmade in Poland. Wood material: cherry timber, finish: oil, height: 50 cm, length: 100 cm, width: 40 cm Handmade in Poland.
