‘Uprooted’: Jorge Penadés and Seetal Solanki rethink the value of discarded olive tree roots

The exhibition 'Uprooted' at the Madrid Design Festival, curated by Seetal Solanki and featuring the work of Jorge Penadés, delves into the overlooked potential of centenary olive tree roots. These roots, often discarded or used as firewood due to the intensive mechanization of Andalucía’s olive oil industry, are repurposed into furniture and material studies. Penadés, a Spanish designer, spent a decade researching olive oil production systems in his birthplace, Andalucía, a region responsible for a significant portion of global and Spanish olive oil output. His research highlighted the widespread disposal of centuries-old native wood, deemed unsuitable for industrial processing due to characteristics like intricate knots, embedded stones, diverse trunk shapes, and excessive density. The shift from traditional manual olive harvesting to super-intensive mechanization has led to the uprooting of native olive species, which are then replaced by trees systematically planted in grids for efficient harvesting. This practice disregards ecological diversity and results in a vast amount of waste material. Penadés' work addresses how materials are often forced to conform to design industry standards, thereby neglecting their intrinsic qualities. His furniture collection, crafted from these discarded olive tree roots, challenges this industrial approach. The 'Uprooted' exhibition, housed in Espacio Gaviota, showcases these furniture pieces alongside material experiments and immersive spatial interventions. It also includes photographic reportage by Max Creasy, which documents the aggressive uprooting practices. The experimental work by Penadés, guided by Solanki, faced numerous technical challenges. Unlike trunks, which grow linearly, roots grow organically in all directions, seeking water and nutrients. This results in embedded stones, extreme hardness, and unpredictable bending during drying, all of which complicate cutting and processing. These challenges necessitated a complete re-evaluation of Penadés' design approach. Solanki, founder and director of Ma-tt-er, champions a 'material-led' design philosophy, where the inherent characteristics of a material guide and inform the design process rather than hinder it. She emphasizes the importance of humans acting as stewards for materials, recognizing their role in fostering a healthier planet. The exhibition further illustrates this approach through Penadés' 'material interview,' which uses 99 questions to explore the olive wood's reactions to various stimuli like burning, cutting, and soaking. 'Uprooted' functions as both a research project and a design exercise, prompting a broader discussion on the implications of cultivation, extraction, and exploitation within the design industry. The exhibition aims to educate audiences on the finite nature of materials and the consequences of limitless extraction. It advocates for designers to embrace their role as caretakers of materials, ensuring a respectful 'birth, life and death' for every material used. The exhibition underscores the importance of thoughtful material interactions in shaping design outcomes and redefining humanity's relationship with the natural world. #MadridDesignFestival #SustainableDesign #MaterialLedDesign #OliveTreeRoots #CircularEconomy #FurnitureDesign #MaterialInnovation #DesignExhibition #Andalucia #MadridDesignFestival #SustainableDesign #MaterialLedDesign #OliveTreeRoots #CircularEconomy #FurnitureDesign #MaterialInnovation #DesignExhibition #Andalucia