| Hayden
Hopwood, Cedar Creek, Qld
Cecilia O’Flannery
display and storage cabinet for an apartment
2270 h x 610 w x 400mm d
Concept
The legendary (and possibly fictitious)
West End lady Cecilia O’Flannery
is downsizing her life for a move into
a near new minimalist white-walled apartment.
In the lounge, a cabinet holds the mementos
and treasures of a life well lived.
The cabinet is tall, elegant and individual,
like the woman herself. She is finely
clothed, dressing over the soft undulations
of her age. She flaunts her camisole,
but adorns it discretely with her olde
world jewellery. The veil is lifted and
it reveals a still radiant skin. The cabinet
resonates with the echoes of Cecilia’s
character. She stands her ground in fine
stockinged boots. This is as far as she
will allow minimalism to reduce her!
Asymmetry reigns. Sculptural chance was
at play during their making. Circumstance
evoked response, response evoked change,
change directed form. The cycle repeats
until finally a structure becomes apparent.
It is centred on its origins, but is tempered
by the overlay of age and experience.
The cabinet’s form is anthropomorphic.
It has life. It has vigour. It has the
human touch, and some humour. Its impressions
are quirky, colourful, elegant and individual.
It reflects the life and character of
the person it purports to represent.
Materials
Carcase constructed using timber from
street and backyard trees, reflecting
the local area. The principal timber used
is Chinese elm (a weed tree) plus fig,
macadamia, she-oak, jacaranda and bottlebrush.
All of these species could be found in
a typical subtropical suburb.
The main sides of the cabinet are of light
ply, overlaid with a compo of recycled
paper (wood fibre), clay and binders to
increase strength. This render has been
sculpted, shaped and finally hand-rubbed
to give a softly undulating surface, then
adorned and painted. Emphasis has been
given to the use of loose circular forms
and pastel colours.
Where possible, natural features of the
dried timber have been incorporated into
the design, for example the cupped board
for the large drawer front or the drying
twisted board for the headpiece of the
cabinet.
Joinery
Most timber components have been joined
with dowels and glue, permitting a secret
(i.e. concealed) joinery. However the
drawer sides have been deliberately constructed
using handcut tapered half-blind dovetails
as a feature.
Hardware
The large file or magazine drawer uses
concealed, full extension, soft closing
metal runners (Blum) to handle the potential
weight difficulties associated with its
contents.
Glues
All glued surfaces were joined with Selleys
Aquadhere exterior waterproof cross-linked
PVA.
Finishes
Bare timber surfaces were given two coats
of Haymes Aqualac clear acrylic, with
the first coat including some very light
whitening to restrict long term timber
colour change and to give a soft misty
appearance to the furniture.
All painted surfaces were coloured using
a variety of water-based acrylic paints.
Photos: Hayden Hopwood
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