The King Protea

"The King Protea" is an interactive sculpture in rosewood, brass and zinc designed by Xavier Clarisse and commissioned for the Presidential suite of the new World Cup 2010 stadium in Durban, South Africa. 

The King Protea is the national flower of South Africa and the emblem of some South African sports teams. A deeper symbolism is created through the floral motif as a sign for the blossoming of the country and its people. The mechanism created by Xavier Clarisse allows viewers to interact with the sculpture, moving it through the stages from birth to full life and back again. The opening and the closing the Protea also represents the iris of the human eye or the aperture of a camera - a reference to the fact that the stadium is to be the centre of global media attention. As Clarisse also comments, "I wanted to use the best possible materials to create an object of luxury for this VIP area and have chosen a combination of rich woods and metals." (see video, photos, press,The making of the Protea)

Vanity Screen

This was one of the first projects that I took on board when I got to South Africa. I made the Vanity Screen for a private customer and built it in my first workshop - a corregated iron  shack in the back garden of Nettex, a well established textile company run by the humble John Ric Hansen. John, following the recommendation of his son Bruce, allowed me and my tool box an undetermined  free stay. Some people are that generous, thanks John. 

Many people have contemplated those old steamer trunks that were made by elegant companies like Louis Vuitton or Hermez back in the days.

A woman approached me one day to design an element for her bedroom to separate her bed from overlooking the inside of her doorless ensuite bathroom. She was imagining a wall, I saw a screen.... something that could be manipulated and moved . Could this divider have a function I asked myself? Then I started to conceive the perfect object of vanity for women  -  somewhere in between the bathroom  and the bedroom, a secret  space, a corner  with everything women dream of, dressing /perfume /jewellery , mirrors, light . Sexy red rosewood, white mother of pearl painted fabric,  leather and brass exuberance. I got to the point where I had to decide whether I should  go with commercial hinges or if I should make them, so I made them of course - in brass so as not to spoil the look with any DIY details! The same detail went into all the other parts, leather handles, hooks, etc. I had the glass for the lights sandblasted with a 1920 glass effect, and steam bended some of the rosewood.(See Cabinetry Slideshow)

Soul stools

 

I was surprised and saddened to see how often the great trees that line our city streets have to be felled and was further shocked to discover that these dismembered giants would end up on a rubbish dump along with general refuse. It seemed so wasteful and so sad that no vestige of these magnificent trees would remain.

 

I became inspired to try and recycle these trees and find ways to work the green wood – and thus created this range of ‘soul stools’, so named as they are made to preserve the soul of each individual tree and honour their passing.

 

I soon developed contacts with tree fellers and corporation employees who identified with my cause but as the logs piled up I quickly I realised that I would need help. I found a group of local unemployed men (some of whom proved talented at working with wood) to help reveal the basic shapes of the stools by cutting away the excess with pangas. I could then work with creating the individual stools and have experimented with various styles – most turned on a lathe, some hand carved.

 

I developed the idea of branding the stools to identify the area that the trees lived and died and to number this limited series of thirty stools.

 

Unfortunately many trees in Durban have a limited life span often thirty to sixty years and as a result this wood will be continuously available for many years to come. One can only hope that where these trees have been removed they will be replaced by some of the more long lived varieties of indigenous trees as wide tree lined streets are so characteristic of many Durban suburbs.

 

Les Hemispheres d'Imbenge

‘Les hemispheres d'imbenge'( 7m x 6m )translates as ‘the hemispheres of the imbenge’ (imbenge being woven Zulu baskets often with that distinctive spiral pattern), Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa.

The simple geometry of the spiral design of these walls is inspired by the lines of African beading and basketry. The spirals turning in opposite directions are reminiscent of the opposing Coriolis force of the North and South poles. The discs of the opposing walls are designed to appear the same at first but on closer inspection they have opposite profiles concave versus convex and turn in different directions to each other – they are alike but opposite and if they were to meet would fit perfectly together.The swirling design is also suggestive of fire/sun and water/waves – elements evocative of the local environment. The wooden discs are hand made using traditional turning to give them an undulating, sculptural profile.

Studio

Like many creative people I do much of my designing and conceptualisation at home. My work often extends itself into family hours or well into the night  - times where I find I am the most creative.

I wanted to create a studio unit that could fit into my living space. It needed to be subtle and as versatile as possible.

For this design, once again, I looked into the past where every architect had a big drafting table. I went through many designs and summarised their best functions trying to fit as much as I could into a cube - as many working surfaces as possible and a lot of storage. I created a little studio that could be used by a few people including my little 3 year old daughter Stella...(see photos)

Disturbance Reception Desk

Richard Hart, the managing director of Disturbance an upbeat advertising company here in Durban, approached me to come up with a concept for a new reception desk. The company is based in an old Victorian/colonial double-storey house that'd been left untouched on the outside but transformed inside into a modern open plan space with bridges linking mezzanine working areas, and furnished in a slick, minimalist style.

My first thought was to do an old fashioned reception desk to blend with the oustide of the building, to look as if it were the only piece of furniture Disturbance had kept from the original house. However, this initial concept evolved into a desk that referenced the modern notion of interactivity in flat screens and advertising, but incorporating a 19th century mechanical style with gears/handles. In my mind, I wanted to overall look to be the kind of piano that Frank Lloyd Wright might have designed. To allow Hart and his team of graphic designers to play a part, I also had them execute three different designs to suit the three "faces" of the desk. It was a perfect job for me, allowing me to collaborate with designers from different disciplines. Thanks, Richard, for the opportunity. (See Video)