FOREWORD Gaston Franco, MEP Host of the exhibition Member of the European Parliament President of the “Club du Bois” within the EP President of the Forest group within the EP Intergroup “Climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development” Wood is probably the most Wood as a material deserves to be worked by these environmentally friendly artists for our pleasure and our search for better ways material that nature has given to master the future. to man. It is made from CO2, It is for all these reasons, that I love wood and wood- captured from the atmosphere based products. by trees and stored in wood, Through this exhibition at the European Parliament, where the carbon will remain entitled Tackle climate change: use wood, to which locked for the entire lifespan I gladly lend my name, the artists seek to emphasise of the wood. and demonstrate the variety that wood in all its facets It is not only a magnificent ecological material, it is has to offer, whether it be as sculpture, craft, decora- also a technological material, perhaps even the most tion or message. innovative and the most extraordinary one at man’s It is my hope that this exhibition will convince disposal. Today, tomorrow, and for centuries to come, many that using wood and wood-based products now wood is and will continue to be this wonderful natural more than ever before will help us in achieving our material, at the same time common and mysterious, main policy goals which are to create a better, safer, beautiful and technical, visionary and renewable. kinder world. Serving as a versatile raw material for construction, For society, there is one truly naturally renewable furniture, packaging, panels etc., it not only inspires resource which plays to man’s capacity for innovation: artists within industry, but also those that have made namely wood! art their profession; the artists who make us question reality and dream about other solutions. 2 3 WOOD IN ART AND THE EUROPEAN WOODWORKING SECTOR Matti Mikkola Ladislaus Döry Hannu Kasurinen Chairman CEI-Bois President EPF Chairman EOS Vice-Chairman CEI-Bois We are pleased to thank Gaston Franco, MEP, chair- • Forests are growing in Europe? Over the last man of the Club du Bois, for the renewed opportunity 20 years, the forest area has expanded in all to inform the Members of the European Parliament European regions, gaining 0.8 million hectares and other European policy makers and institutions, by each year. Over the same period (20 years) the total means of an exhibition inside the European Parliament, growing stock of forests in Europe has increased about the importance of the European woodworking by 8.6 billion m3, equivalent to the total combined sector and the benefits it offers to the EU as it seeks to growing stock of France, Germany and Poland. meet its main climate and sustainability policy targets. • Of all building materials, wood has the best In fact, although six years have passed since we carbon balance? launched the ‘Tackle climate change: use wood’ slogan, • Wood products have an eco-efficient life cycle and such calls to action are more relevant than ever. With can be repaired, reused, recycled and finally recov- the effects of climate change becoming more and ered as energy? When the products are burned at more visible to EU citizens, through major calamities the end of their life cycle, CO2 is released back into across the globe such as the recent ravages of ‘super- the atmosphere. This means that wood is carbon storm’ Sandy in North America, attention needs to be neutral, having a ‘zero’ carbon footprint. constantly drawn to how an increased use of wood and • The manufacturing of materials for a wooden build- wood-based products can help in mitigating the present ing uses 28% less primary energy and emits 45% alarming situation. In this context, we are pleased to less carbon than the manufacturing of materials for note that the services of the European Commission and a similar concrete building? the European Parliament are working on implementing important decisions taken in Durban concerning the rec- The subtitle ‘Plant a second forest’ refers to a ‘second ognition of harvested wood products as carbon stores in forest’ of harvested wood products which we could greenhouse gas accounting schemes. ‘plant’ in our cities, villages and homes by using This exhibition puts forward wood-based art from substantially more wood products. As these products well-known European contemporary artists as top continue storing carbon throughout their serviceable quality examples of harvested wood products storing life, they are in fact counterparts to forests storing carbon for years, in fact for ever, we hope. They act as carbon in the trees. a point of attraction and encourage the visitor to learn We hope that this exhibition and related catalogue more about how wood and wood products can be of will give you a better insight into the European wood- immediate assistance in finding appropriate solutions working sector, the role and importance of using wood to the myriad of challenges faced by society today. and wood products and the solutions they offer. In this context, the European Woodworking Industries look Did you know, for instance, that: forward to a continuous open dialogue with all stake- • 1 m3 of wood stores about 1 tonne of carbon? holders in order to use the benefits offered by wood • If we used 10% more wooden houses in Europe, 25% and wood products to a greater and greater extent. of the Kyoto targets concerning CO2 reduction would Wood: the solution! be realised? 5 ARTS AND INDUSTRY Dany Vandenbossche Curator of the exhibition Honorary Member, Flemish Parliament This is not our first attempt at bridging the gap between Industry), the federations that unite the wood industry in are displaying their work in a setting that does not bear Who else to open our exhibition than Jan Hoet, two seemingly opposite worlds: arts and industry. Europe, to repeat the politico-economic message to the any resemblance to a traditional stand in a fair, but is honorary curator of S.M.A.K. and responsible for its You would be amazed at how closely related they are. European policy makers, again by means of an art exhi- conceived as a truly artistic space, shared equally by art outstanding contemporary art collection, and honorary Take for instance The Sequence, the monumental piece bition. A fresh way of communicating, which enables and economics. director of MARTa in Herford (Germany). As a result of of art by Arne Quinze that will continue to embellish the message to appeal to an even wider audience. It seemed only logical that Arne Quinze’s work his work in European contemporary art, Jan Hoet has the entrance to the Flemish Parliament until 2014. We searched and found five renowned European would form part of the exhibition. When The Sequence received several important awards not only in Belgium, The wooden sculpture of course reflects an artistic artists who use wood as a basic material for their art, was built on the Leuvenseweg in Brussels, the but also in France and Germany. We are grateful to message, but also echoes what the wood industry is but also lend it an everlasting value. For the overall Flemish Parliament decided to purchase the scale him for his contribution to this initiative and for his seeking to tell us. concept of the exhibition, we turned to Tijdsbeeld & model in order to have a lasting reminder of the work. help in obtaining the loan of Suicide d’objet (2001) When the European Panel Federation (EPF) Pièce Montée nv, experts in the development of design The Parliament was kind enough to loan it to Tackle by French artist Philippe Ramette for the exhibition. organised an event around The Sequence in 2010, their concepts for exhibitions and museums, to help us cre- climate change: use wood. Plant a second forest. Our Ramette started his career as a sculptor and gained aim was to draw the attention of policy makers, the ate an environment that allows the two worlds to blend thanks go to the Speaker of the Flemish Parliament, international acclaim with his surreal, gravity-defying press and the general public to the value of sustainable together seamlessly. Jan Peumans and also to John Thielemans, who is in photographs. wood use. The giant construction was built outside It was not our intention to present an exhaustive charge of the Parliament’s impressive art collection. We also welcome German artist Stephan Balkenhol, the Flemish Parliament in 2008 in the context of the selection of artists. We would have liked to have Richard Long was another obvious choice. The internationally known for his roughly carved and Festival of Politics, an event held every five years in the more works and wood products on display, but the sculptor, painter and photographer was born in Bristol painted sculptures. Typical of his work is that sculp- Parliament. The wooden installation will finally be dis- limited space obliged us to make a tight selection. The in 1945 and is one of the best-known British land art- tures and pedestals are carved from the same piece of mantled in 2014 and will be completely recycled and selected works by five artists each carry the message ists, renowned for his use of natural materials including wood. Even though the sculptures are painted in the reused. It is the artist telling us to use wood carefully. the European wood industry wishes to convey. wood. A famous example is Driftwood Line (1977), made end, he sees to it that the original material remains vis- The event received significant coverage in the local and It is probably hard to imagine the amount of discus- up of driftwood gathered on one of his long walks, and ible.