Kashviran Naicker, O Sake Cabinet (Student Awards 2019)

The aim for my HSC major work was to create an oriental Japanese styled liquor cabinet with two drawers for storage of miscellaneous items. The traditional cabinet is a unique take on a liquor cabinet incorporating wenge accents and linear lines to create a functional, durable and visually appealing project. The inspiration came from a recent trip to Japan where I was immersed into the Japanese culture through various sightseeings of different traditional temples and the fine woodworking culture. The main inspiration for the project were the shoji screens, which can be seen taken into account on the cabinet doors of my project as the wenge accents are meant to replicate the intricate and structural support of the shoji frames. The project only uses vertices and linear lines throughout to create and maintain the traditional Japanese fine woodworking rustic appearance, whilst simultaneously showcasing the delicate and simplistic aesthetic of construction of timber through different types of joinery. The timber selected had to have had resonance to the colours used in traditional Japanese carpentry as I wanted to retain the culture within the project. Tasmanian blackwood and rock maple were chosen as they are both well to work with and are subtly contrasting timbers which in chorus complement each other. Wenge was used in accents to add shape and colour into the project by breaking the monotoned lighter coloured rock maple, adding style and contrast to the project utilising the natural beauty of the timber. The project showcases the use of through dovetailing, lamination, flush trimming, mortise and tenons, hidden breadboard ends, inlaying, and more fine woodworking techniques to create an ergonomically, durable and aesthetically pleasing project, satisfying my intent of wanting to learn and gain a greater knowledge in fine woodworking by producing a high quality piece of work. Year 12, Castle Hill High School. Teacher: Bradley Turner

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