the tree project
- WOOD SPECIES: Single big leaf maple tree
A MUSEUM PRESENCE. In 2002 Andrew Vallee and Wesley Smith presented The Tree Project at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, WA. The exhibition focused on the transformation of a single big leaf maple tree that was taken from a sustainably managed forest. For three years Smith & Vallee studied, documented, and crafted this tree into 55 pieces of furniture including a 65 ft long sculpture that replicates the original shape of the tree. A timeline of the the tree’s 118 year life span as well as a photo-documentary of the entire process were central to the exhibition.