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The purpose of constructing is to build sub-structures that enclose space. Cities are comprised of blocks, which consist of buildings, which further consist of floors, which are made up of rooms. Cross-ply is one of these rooms. In fact, it is a room within a room, a structure within a structure.

The term 'cross-ply' refers to a manufacturing process used to strengthen plywood and increase its resistance to splitting. This is accomplished by gluing thin layers of wood together with successive grains at right angles to each other. Cross-ply undermines this purpose, as I reverse the manufacturing process by exposing the plywood core. It is this procedure of crossing that inspired the title of the installation.

Cross-ply is a large primary structure consisting of four walls, an entrance way and a porthole. The exterior frame remains untreated, while the interior space is an environment of eroded spaces. Each wall is physically ripped, chiselled and scarred with routers, sanders and knives to create bas-reliefs revealing the plywood layers. The door and the porthole allow movement between the inner and the outer.

Cross-ply is built in the spirit of both construction and deconstruction. In some ways the plywood is transformed back to its raw state. Traces of the tree's life are disclosed by exposing the wood grains, rings, patterns and knots. Each of the layers are carved and dissected to reveal the innate colour and texture of wood, unveiling the beauty within the material. The wood grain is retraced to reveal the once existing growth patterns of the tree. In several panels, the walls are punctured allowing the light from open knotholes to fall beyond the plywood room into the exterior space.

In this particular gallery, the building’s support column has been integrated into the piece. Not only does this heighten our sense of dialogue between the two sub-structures, it connects Cross-ply to the building itself and to the city at large.

Yechel Gagnon 2000

©2001 Yechel Gagnon