Bark Sphere

Bark, the boundary between trees and their environment, comprises about 10–20% of their total volume. It forms the interface between the environment and the vital cambium and wood. But what does this protection feel like? Can bark take on protective functions for humans as well? These questions arise when peeling bark off a tree for the first time. The aim for the bark sphere installation by Charlett Wenig and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten is to allow one or more people to stand inside and experience being completely surrounded by bark. The use of tree bark with a woven structure allows the use of the protective function of bark in addition to controlling the object’s stability by using different weaving patterns. The inherently difficult round shape of the sphere was selected to explore the limits of formability and to leave room for the viewer’s own interpretation.