It was a desire for a different approach which led the company to Mike Dye; an artist and photographer with an uncommon understanding of materials. Mike believes that materials suppliers can help good, durable and environmentally-sound design and his latest work for Coillte Panel Products - a series of wall sculptures created from the clients’ own MDF and OSB products* - has delivered a striking new perspective of not only on the space and how it affects the room, but a new interpretation on the process of manufacture; how the material actually comes off the production line.

The brief was left open for Mike to explore. The thoughts he developed were to create an art work that explored the materials through bold but simple form making, harnessing the latest technology to achieve a strong statement, be thought provoking, and nourish the decision-making process of a sustainability-conscious and dynamic company.

Early on, the core idea was to find a way to reflect or imply the manufacturing process. Mike also believes that an art work should be about new ways of thinking, and that is exactly what this sculpture has achieved. When used conventionally, the panels are a flat expanse but Mike perceived them as towering stacks and this provided inspiration for what would become the wall-mounted sculptures. The materials suggested particles and strands as well as strength, and Mike was intrigued to see thick stripes of colour running through the centre of the material, a core which normally remains hidden.

Reduced geometry is part of Mike Dye’s imagery. He said, “I had a feeling of mass combined with elegance, almost a dance of weight and delicacy, which I wanted to use as the central thought for this work.” The concept of nature and engineering led to the design of four separate 1m square panels, all stacked to feature the short end face rather than the usual flat surface. With a depth of 150mm, the design called for the skills of the craftsmen at Taylor Made Joinery Interiors in Ipswich who had to developed a specific bespoke cutting tool for their CNC router to carve out the three dimensional deep relief. The four blocks of material were able to take on new form accurately and well and the deep curves gave natural light a special relationship to final mounted work, with the shadows cast continually changing the work throughout the day. Mike said “This was a difficult and challenging process, but the final piece has lifted these products out of context and the quality of the build and finish gives it a certain power.”

Said Geoff Rhodes, Coillte Panel Products marketing and business development director, “The brief for this amazing work emerged as we looked at what statement could we make to show MDF and OSB in a very different way. Mike has given us a beautiful and unique end result which we could never have expected”.

4 November 2009