New Volumes™ ℅ Artedomus, An Installation by Fiona Lynch and Thomas Coward

Discovered in a quarry in Greece 20 years ago, Artedomus’ Elba™ can trace its origins back 250 million years. The dolomite-based stone formed in a coral reef, where it was heated and compressed at the bottom of the ocean through the movement of tectonic plates. Now, the stone’s remarkable history is celebrated through the Artedomus ℅ New Volumes Collection in an installation by Fiona Lynch and Thomas Coward, which explores Elba’s journey “from the ground to the house”.

The New Volumes™ Collection was conceived by creative director Thomas Coward and Artedomus managing director Phil Brenton as an opportunity to explore and push the boundaries of a single material. Seven designers were approached to design for the collection, and the pieces are as diverse as the designers themselves. Every design, however, is united by the material – each piece is crafted from a solid block of Elba, with no visible additional materials, creating a unique clarity and unity of form, material and function.

For Melbourne Design Week, Thomas Coward collaborated with renowned designer Fiona Lynch to construct an installation of the New Volumes™ Collection. The installation juxtaposes the material’s exceptional strength and ancient history with its tactility and softness, which makes it ideal used in both sculpture and architecture.

Exhibited in the TDF Gallery, rough-hewn Elba™ plinths quarried in Greece are contrasted with the organic curved forms of the New Volumes™ Collection, representing the journey of the material over time, “from the ground to the house”. Presented in both its raw and refined states, visitors to the exhibition can engage with the material beyond the form in which it is usually encountered. The result creates the impression that these carefully designed, pure forms have somehow emerged from the block, and encourages consideration of our relationship with natural materials while highlighting Elba’s unique qualities and potential.

The installation is a landscape for its visitors to explore, discovering the power and presence of this material hundreds of millions of years in the making. The installation is a landscape for its visitors to explore, discovering the power and presence of this material hundreds of millions of years in the making.

New Volumes™ c/o Artedomus, an installation by Thomas Coward and Fiona Lynch

March 15th-24th 11am-5pm

TDF Gallery

14 Little Oxford Street Collingwood, Melbourne