Formafantasma has curated a research-focused exhibition at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London, which aims to unravel the global impact of the forestry industry.
Called Cambio, the show sheds light on the legality and environmental impact of the extraction, production and distribution of wood to make products around the world.
Italian duo Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin curated Cambio off the back of a number of conversations and collaborations with different practitioners and experts from the timber industry.
Timber was chosen as its focus because it is one of the most globally abundant materials in design and architecture. However, the pair believe many of its users are unaware that wood is often unethically sourced from fragile ecosystems.
A highlight of the exhibition is a section dedicated to the "forensic analysis" of typical wooden products sold in the UK each year, which examines whether or not they are legally and ethically sourced.
This features a tower-like installation made up IKEA Bekväm stool replicas, which the studio crafted from seven different species of tree such as cherry and chestnut.
Aptly, all the shelving used throughout the exhibition was crafted by Formafantasma from a single pine tree salvaged from Val di Fiemme, a forest in northern Italy that was destroyed in 2018 by a storm.
The reason is to spotlight that if it had not have used it, the tree would have been left to rot and the carbon dioxide it had stored over its growth would be released back to the atmosphere.
