The Age of Wood: Christian + Jade’s exploration of timelessness and craftsmanship in Tokyo

Christian+Jade’s timber installations stand out against this raw shell. On the choice of the material, a spokesperson from Karimoku explains, “Survey 00:WOOD was the first ‘survey’ for Karimoku Research. Wood is the most familiar material for Karimoku Furniture so we thought it would be the most appropriate subject for the first program to launch the Karimoku Research project.”

The hope is to work with designers, manufacturers, craftsmen, scientists and artists worldwide to promote the use of the variety of attractive woods from all over the country that Karimoku Furniture uses for its products.  

Chan explains that the exhibition’s title, The Age of Wood, not only refers to the long period of wood that has allowed humankind to grow and build society, but also “the centuries it takes to grow a healthy forest, the years it takes for a tree to grow, and lastly, what it truly means to age not only with the wood in our homes but also the woodlands in our lives.” 

Immersed in our urban environments, we have lost touch with how human life is inextricably connected to tree life, which is the reason why forests—and biophilia by extension—calm us. Trees are also a source of life; they are resources for the advancement of cities and livelihood, provide tools to create fire (and hence, warmth, light, nourishment, tools and shelter), and are part of our everyday through the architecture we inhabit and the furniture we sit on. 

The research for The Age of Wood is comprehensive, and the exhibits, artful. The showcase is divided into three categories: Centuries of a Forest, which is a library of many tree varieties and their characteristics and leaf types as well as a folding screen; Years of a Tree is a series of small sculptures visualising how we can understand the years a tree has lived; and Ageing with Wood comprises three large sculptures highlighting the changes that wood goes through over time. 

When one takes time to go through the library, sometimes stepping on stools and climbing ladders to read the text and specimen on the upper levels, one starts to become aware of just how diverse nature is. Manchurian ash, Chinese red ash, Japanese raisin rree, kobus magnolia and Japanese zelkova are but few of the species found in Japan’s vast forests. 

One also notices the different patterns and forms that nature has crafted. The leaf of the Japanese maple (yamamomiji) tree spreads like a fan while those of the Japanese cypress (hinoki) tree are feathery and fine.

The Age of Wood is also a history lesson, as one learns that Japanese cypress and sugi (Japanese cedar) are well suited for construction, hence they comprise 47 per cent of Japan’s forests; oak and chestnut are critical sources of fuel wood, while cherry and maple, with their mutability through the seasons, are highly featured in Japanese art and culture. This information becomes the narrative of the inlay on the folding screen. 

Trees, as Christian+Jade tells us, has given us much and will continue to do so. Thus, we have to be reciprocal. Says Chan, “The forest bears witness—to a time before us, and stretching into a future beyond us.

The tree grows in layers around dead cells of heartwood, their structure and spine; it stands on the shoulders of yesterday. In an era where many of us are losing access to or pining for a more meaningful connection to nature, The Age of Wood seeks to investigate ideas of age, time and patina in the context of Japanese woodland. Alongside Karimoku, Christian+Jade chiselled out a new vision for timelessness—as human beings, stewards and formgivers. 

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