2017 / Ash and watercolor / Project assistant: Harmonie Begon

One of the main characteristics of birds are the incredibly saturated colours of their feathers. Toucan, hummingbird and Mexican quetzal were chosen because of their glowing chromatic range.

In an attempt of generating a balanced dialogue between machine made and handmade objects, we made soft and continuous shapes milled with CNC technology contrasted with handmade painting done by immersion in coloured water, an experimental technique we developed for this project, which gives the birds a unique personality. This technique of painting allows to achieve an interesting texture of intersections and transparency made by layers of colour that resembles the plumage of birds. The amount of colour, hue and the way sections cross one another depends on the time and position the wood is plunged. 

This way, the birds acquire a duality, where handmade and machine made complement each resulting in three decorative figures.