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The aim of these pieces it to draw attention to the raw materials, in this case trees, before they are minced into MDF and laminated with plastic. The concept of “fast furniture” is a prime source of the current throwaway culture and highlights how the traditional ‘buy once – buy well’ custom has faded away, to be replaced by consumer greed and changing fashions. Fast furniture has, by the very nature of a response to the demands of immediacy and budgets, become flimsy, thin and built with the idea that it will not need to last more than a few years as it can be easily replaced. Mass marketing has created the widespread desire for products that exist more for commerce and convenience than functionality.
With 42 million trees felled daily and only a reported 5 million planted, sustainability appears to be sadly not more much than a movement and a hope. Consumerism and short-term profit seem to be holding sway over a sustainable future and weave their threads into a great many branches of industry, but few are promoted more as being family-friendly than the industries who furnish our homes.
Dissertation – Andy Goldsworthy: A Case Study
