Earthen Bench

Sitting on the earthen bench feels like planting oneself on a mound of soil. A feeling that is akin to sitting on the ground while being elevated in the air. Your clothes will become covered in dirt, leaving traces of sand behind as evidence of sitting there. Moving your bare hand across the surface feels gritty to the touch. The layers of dirt are compressed together into strong bonds, creating colourful stratum underneath the unyielding surface. The process of ramming the dirt is both functional and beautiful.

The yellow brickies sand, recycled concrete aggregate, and decomposed granite were extracted from the ground at Bathurst. I turned the dirt over with my hands, evenly mixing the fine particles together and into a mound. The mixture was then gradually poured into a plywood mould and rammed layer by layer. I pounded the earth, hammering the particles until they compacted into strong bonds. Rolling lines of the compacted surface forming layers in the bench. The heavy mass of earth elevated on wheels and hollowed out for easy transportation.