Excavation

Virginia MacDonnell Eichhcorn

Excavate:1 make (a hole or channel) by digging. 2 reveal or extract by digging 3. Dig systematically into the ground to explore (a site)
from The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Clarendon Press Oxford 1995

Excavation is an accurate description of Yechel Gagnon's process. Using plywood as the primary material, she exposes the layers in order to reveal the aesthetics qualities within a practical material.

Her work evolved from applying paint to carved surfaces, to creating her own plywood by layering together different wood, paper, veneer and fabric. She eventually abandoned paint and layering of materials and progressed towards new painterly wood 'excavations'. In these works the innate colours and textures of the wood became the pigment itself. Gagnon’s current works are large vertical plywood panels that are manipulated with hand tools to create relief surfaces. As the surfaces are plied, the natural properties in the artificial are revealed.

Plywood is a strong thin board consisting of several layers glued and pressed together with the direction of the grain alternating. It is a utilitarian product used as a hidden support structure in construction, excluded of any aesthetic traits except for practical purposes. However, through the physical manipulation of the surface with a belt sander, an electric router, chisel knives and oils, the numerous exotic shades, textures and colours existing within the panel are revealed. Traces of the tree's life are disclosed by exposing the wood’s grains, rings, layers and knots thus returning it to its original organic state as raw material.

Digging into flat surfaces, Gagnon explores this material by exposing the layering of the product, hence reversing the manufacturing process. This allows for an investigation of the dichotomy between the practical use of the plywood and its natural properties. Ultimately the process allows for the potential beauty within a functional material – plywood – to be laid bare.

Virginia MacDonnell Eichhcorn, 2000