Gadi – Bench | Ross Wortham

From the exhibition Emerging Contemporaries (Room sheet #83).

Year: 2022

Materials: Mitred dovetail joinery in American Black Walnut, Victorian Ash, and natural raw linen. Cushion designed by Julie Paterson.

Dimensions: 540 x 1100 x 450 mm

About the Maker: 

Ross spent the past 20 years in the community services sector and found the craft of woodwork and fine furniture making later in life. Now, after a year of intensive study at the Sturt School for Wood in Mittagong NSW, Ross is proud to call himself a designer and maker of wooden objects. His focus is on traditional joinery and arts and crafts ideals. His work stresses the inherent beauty of the material, the importance of nature as inspiration, and the value of simplicity, utility, and sustainability. Ross is also influenced by the Japanese worldview of ‘Wabi-Sabi’, which sees beauty in that which is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete", such as the wood and natural materials he chooses to work with.

The ‘Gadi bench’ is made from a single book-matched piece of American Black Walnut, paying homage to the iconic century-old telephone table, and showing a deep respect for the ever-strong dovetail joint with over 100 hours dedicated to the dovetails throughout the piece. The legs are splayed and tapered at two different angles and joined using traditional mortis and tenons with wooden buttons attaching the legs to the base allowing for movement and to ensure it is stable and strong enough to last for generations. The cushion was a collaboration with Sydney-based fabric designer Julie Paterson and is made with natural raw linen and screen printed by hand. This bench provides a lovely entry table, occasional chair or even a chaise lounge.

Available for shipment or collection from 20 March, 2023.

Photos: Ashley Mackevicius