An Appearance of Frondescence 
Final Year Project

Frondescence is the slow emergence and unfolding of new leaves, derived from the latin verb ‘frondere’ which loosely translates to ‘put forth leaves’. With this imagery in mind, An Appearance of Frondescence is a series of conceptual items inspired by nature that plays on the idea of biophilia, which suggests we all have an inherent genetic connection to the natural world. 

The idea is to simulate a moment in nature and transform it into a daily element in our lives through common products. The products are intended to induce the experience of interacting with nature when in use- Such as waking up to the melodies of birdsong, washing your face with water from leaves or drinking tea amongst the mountains. 

However, when taking a closer look at the items, one starts to notice peculiar sprinkles of colour. The juxtaposition of natural materials like wood and stone against synthetic materials like plastic trash is a twist to the idea of embracing nature. Despite using organic forms or natural materials themselves, they can only appear natural to a certain degree- These products and the experiences you get from using them are simply our attempts to simulate what is natural. As much as we try to create and imitate what can be found in nature, it is undeniable that all these are still man-made. 

So the project chooses to highlight the artificiality of emulating nature or natural experiences, and to even celebrate this artificial nature. An Appearance of Frondescence wants to surround ourselves with more nature in our lives even though it may just be a quasi-semblance of it at times.

Mixed medium: Plastics embedded in resin, Wood, Wax, Pink Styrofoam