The Ocean Screen

Project Info

Created from discarded hardwood veneers and industry offcuts, this pictorial folding screen uses marquetry to explore how overlooked materials can tell powerful environmental stories.

Inspired by the ocean floor, the screen encourages reflection on the value we place on waste materials and the need to protect our fragile marine ecosystems. Acting as both a functional and storytelling object, one side depicts the richness of the seabed by day, while the reverse reveals the dark surface of the water at night. Together, the contrasting scenes transform the mood of the piece while suggesting that what lies unseen remains equally important.

Material choice is central to the project. Waste veneers from a range of species, including sycamore, rosewood, maple, walnut, zicote and sapele, are celebrated for their variation, creating beauty through imperfection rather than uniformity. Pressed onto a birch plywood core and framed with oak offcuts, the screen demonstrates the creative potential of secondary materials.

Designed at full scale, the composition combines hand and digital drawing with laser cutting and traditional marquetry techniques. The cutting layout was carefully planned so four colourways could be produced from a single set of components, maximising material yield and ensuring each screen is subtly unique. Hinged panels allow the piece to be reconfigured within the home, encouraging interaction and creating changing relationships between image, light and space.