red log torno








research description
Red Log Torno is a research project focusing on a specific resource, red eucalyptus logs from Portugal. Although widespread across the Iberian landscape, this tree species is almost exclusively used by the paper pulp industry. The production rythmes dictate systematic premature cuts on the trees. After years of shorten growth cycles in monoculture, the tree’s lumber is wrongly known for being fibrous and weak. Therefore it is very rare to find in local sawmill for sale. When I stumbled accross a firelogs shop selling eucalyptus, I was able to see the wood from a tree that had lived longer than thirty years.
This project researches the unexplored qualities of the eucalyptus beyond its reputation. The strong coloration of the rings red, pink, white inspire compositions. The twelve presented cup are handmade, turned and burnt. The raw aspect of these objects reminds us their origin: the tree.
photo credits: Lola Tual @tuall & Madeleine Oltra
special thanks: Hugues Lagarde, professional wood turner, for sharing his know-how with me
Marco Kentrop, Florian Lemaître for lending me their machines
Carlos Martim, ingeneer at SERQ centro de inovação e compétencias da floresta
Vanda Oliveira, researcher at ISA Instituto Superior de Agronomia de Lisboa