In the installation an inner space of a hollow tree trunk is used as mould to shape different natural stages of wood; compost amongst other materials. The resulting shapes show the shapes made by insects and are placed in water. They will slowly return to the initial stage of the material they are made of. Afterwards, the material will be returned to the forest and become part of its cyclic process.

This project is part of the long-term project StagingWood; an investigation in our relationship with the wood, a tree and the forests. The project started with residency at the Aomori Contemporary Art Center, Japan.

Here Elmo Vermijs researched on the lifecycle of the Hiba tree that is endemic to the four main islands of Japan. He was interested in the history and management of Hiba forests in Aomori prefecture and the linear production of lumber in relation to local spiritual practice.
Vermijs visited several sawmills and made fieldtrips to places of worship in Hiba forests in Mutsu, Yomogida-mura and Goshogawara. So far, his research resulted in two works that both concentrate on the question: How can I, as an architectural designer, relate to the Hiba forests that surround Aomori and the local uses of wood?

Vermijs started to work with various waste materials produced by the sawmills, where Hiba is cut, dried and milled in the demand for lumber and oil. Vermijs takes a particular interest in the production leftovers: small pieces of wood, saw dust, pulp and charcoal. These industrial waste materials are deemed economically unviable. How do they relate to the lifecycle stages of wood in the forest like the half degraded and rotten trunks, compost and humus?