The exhibition RETHINKING DESIGN / RETHINKING PROCESSES aimed to showcase the process of building furniture with wood from Mallorca while also protecting our ecosystems. In parallel, furniture designed and constructed by Amarar in collaboration with other artisans was also displayed.
A gradual process of delocalization began in the late 20th century, in search of places with cheaper extraction and labor costs, impacting ecosystems and workers’ rights. In the case of Mallorca, the disappearance of value chains in the use of wood, stone, and ceramics has led the territory towards a culture of abandonment, both in terms of land use and technical knowledge. In the case of wood, Mallorca currently imports 70,000 tons of wood per year, even though 95% of the island’s forests have untapped potential. What can we do?
The exhibition is an event divided into three scenes:
The first scene is a pile of stacked trees. The trunks came from a property in Pollença that was affected by Storm Juliette in February 2023 (https://www.ultimahora.es/noticias/part-forana/2023/03/14/1899203/mallorca-millones-arboles-danados-por-borrasca-juliette.html). The storm affected over a million trees, mainly in the Serra de Tramuntana in Mallorca. Part of the furniture in the exhibition was built using wood from the trees damaged during Juliette.
The second scene is a trough built form marès sandstone, using a dry stone technique. It is filled with water to soak pine wood for a month and observe the soaking process. The soaking process improves the quality and durability of the wood.
The third scene is a pine wood dryer built using slats sawn directly from the tree trunks. A total of 13 cubic meters of pine were used to construct 12 pillars using 2.1-meter slats (2.1 meters is the size used by Mallorca foresters, to fit the width of the trucks that transport the logs to the sawmills). These pillars, measuring 1.2 x 1.2 m in a cross shape, form a grid of six rooms, with dimensions of 3.6 x 3.6 m, inside which six interiors were displayed with furniture built using wood, wool, straw, leather, and fabric.
To build this structure, 950 slats of 8 x 4 x 210 cm were used, separated by 950 slats of 8 x 4 x 30 cm, held together by 84 straps. This system allows for the subsequent disassembly and storage of the wood to continue its drying process so it can be used to build furniture for the next Pollença Craft Fair in 2024.
The entire process aims to protect our forests and rebuild the value chain to create furniture from wood sourced in Mallorca.
