‘We mould trees to grow into the shape of chairs’

“我们将树木塑造成椅子的形状”

A couple have spent the past 20 years experimenting to perfect the practice of moulding trees so they grow into the shape of a chair. 一对夫妇在过去的20年里不断试验，旨在完善将树木塑造成椅子形状的工艺。

Alice and Gavin Munro grow their creations upside down, in a process that they say typically takes between six and nine years, before each item is dried for a year. 爱丽丝·芒罗（Alice Munro）和加文·芒罗（Gavin Munro）以倒置的方式培育他们的作品。他们表示，整个过程通常需要六到九年，之后每件成品还需要进行为期一年的干燥处理。

The process involves training and pruning young tree branches as they grow over specially-made pieces of recycled plastic which help to shape the trees’ growth. 这一过程涉及对幼树枝条进行引导和修剪，使其沿着特制的再生塑料模具生长，从而塑造出树木的形态。

Branches are then grafted together at certain points, so that the object grows into one solid piece. 随后，枝条会在特定位置进行嫁接，使整件作品长成一个坚固的整体。

Gavin said the first seed for the project was sown when he was a young boy and saw an overgrown bonsai tree that he thought looked like a chair. 加文说，这个项目的种子早在儿时就已埋下——当时他看到一棵长势茂盛的盆景，觉得它看起来像一把椅子。

The idea grew when Gavin was in and out of hospital with Klippel-Feil syndrome - a rare congenital condition characterised by the abnormal fusion of two or more neck vertebrae. 当加文因患有克利佩尔-费尔综合征（Klippel-Feil syndrome）而频繁出入医院时，这个想法进一步萌芽。这是一种罕见的先天性疾病，其特征是两节或多节颈椎异常融合。

He underwent several operations to straighten his spine during his youth, when he said he had time to “reflect and learn patience”. 他在青年时期接受了多次脊柱矫正手术，他说那段时光让他有时间“反思并学会耐心”。

“It was only after doing this project for a few years, a friend pointed out that I must know exactly what it’s like to be shaped and grafted on a similar timescale,” Gavin said. “在做这个项目几年后，一位朋友指出，我一定非常了解在相似的时间跨度内被塑形和嫁接是什么感觉，”加文说道。

After leaving Chesterfield College, Gavin had a period of making furniture in California in the US by stitching driftwood together, which he said was what showed him he could grow trees into useful shapes. 从切斯特菲尔德学院（Chesterfield College）毕业后，加文曾在美国加利福尼亚州通过拼接浮木制作家具。他说，正是那段经历让他意识到，自己可以将树木培育成实用的形状。

He and Alice then set up Full Grown in Derbyshire back in 2006. They met when they were 17 and remained friends for a long time. After the pair had stints abroad, they became a couple and set out on their journey together. 2006年，他和爱丽丝在德比郡创立了“Full Grown”公司。他们17岁时相识，并保持了很长时间的友谊。在各自出国闯荡一段时间后，两人走到了一起，共同开启了这段旅程。

Gavin, who has a background in furniture creation, is described on the business’s website as the designer behind the project, while Alice is listed as the communications director. 拥有家具设计背景的加文在公司官网上被标注为该项目的首席设计师，而爱丽丝则担任传播总监。

The pair admit they “didn’t know what they let themselves in for” and it has taken decades to properly learn the craft. 两人坦言，他们起初“并不知道自己卷入了什么”，为了真正掌握这门手艺，他们花费了数十年的时间。

“We’re 20 years into what might be a 50 or 100-year journey,” said Gavin, 50. “At the beginning I thought there would be a two or three-year learning cycle, but it’s more like 12 or 13 years.” “我们在这段可能长达50年甚至100年的旅程中已经走了20年，”50岁的加文说，“起初我以为学习周期只需两三年，但实际上更接近12或13年。”

Gavin added the company was “a direct result of trying to think, what is the most subtle interaction we can have with the world in order to create useful, beautiful objects?” 加文补充说，这家公司的成立是“为了思考：我们能与世界进行的最微妙的互动是什么，从而创造出既实用又美观的物品？”

After starting out in 2006, the first generation of chairs, lamps and experiments began in 2012 - after a lot of trial, error and most importantly of all, patience. 自2006年起步后，经过大量的试验、失败，以及最重要的一点——耐心，第一批椅子、灯具和实验性作品于2012年问世。

The couple, who work with a range of trees including willow, oak and ash, said there were currently “a few dozen” growing pieces in their orchard, including stools, benches and “the odd chandelier” in progress. 这对夫妇使用柳树、橡树和白蜡树等多种树木进行创作。他们表示，目前果园里有“几十件”正在生长的作品，包括凳子、长椅，以及正在制作中的“偶尔出现的吊灯”。

The couple are hoping to launch a programme, Full Grown Academy, in the near future to help people grow their own chairs. They said this would see them share the knowledge they have gained so far. 这对夫妇希望在不久的将来启动一个名为“Full Grown Academy”的项目，帮助人们培育属于自己的椅子。他们表示，这将使他们能够分享迄今为止所积累的知识。

“Hopefully in the next few weeks, we’re developing a kind of academy where we can help other people,” he said. “Lots of people have been wanting to do this in their own gardens, or in museums and things, so that’s our next level.” “希望在接下来的几周内，我们能建立起一个学院来帮助其他人，”他说，“很多人都想在自己的花园、博物馆或其他地方尝试这样做，这就是我们下一步的目标。”

A bronze cast of one of their chairs will appear at this month’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show as part of a garden collated by Plant Heritage, a conservation charity for cultivated plants. 他们的一把椅子的青铜铸件将出现在本月的切尔西花展（RHS Chelsea Flower Show）上，作为栽培植物保护慈善机构“植物遗产”（Plant Heritage）所策划花园的一部分。

Alice, 51, said: “We’re really, really excited about the Chelsea Flower Show. We’ve been thinking about it for years but never thought we’d be able to meet the requirements. It’s a bit of a dream come true, really - it’s as big as it gets.” 51岁的爱丽丝说：“我们对切尔西花展感到非常非常兴奋。我们多年来一直向往这里，但从未想过自己能达到参展要求。这真的算是梦想成真了——这是最高规格的舞台。”

Gwen Hines, the charity’s CEO, said: “We’re huge fans of Alice and Gavin’s stunning chairs at Plant Heritage, so the opportunity to have a bronze cast of one of their creations on the garden is really exciting. The patience and skill it has taken to grow and shape this chair over many years is incredible, and mirrors the commitment of our National Collection holders to taking care of the plants in their collections. I can’t wait to see it in situ at Chelsea.” 该慈善机构的首席执行官格温·海恩斯（Gwen Hines）表示：“我们是爱丽丝和加文这些精美椅子的忠实粉丝，因此有机会在花园中展示他们作品的青铜铸件，真的令人兴奋。多年来培育和塑造这把椅子所需要的耐心和技巧令人难以置信，这反映了我们国家收藏持有者对植物保护的承诺。我迫不及待地想在切尔西现场看到它。”

Some of Full Grown’s chairs were featured in a Louis Vuitton display in 2022, while others have been purchased by Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Additionally, some are on permanent display at the National Museum of Scotland, Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collection. Full Grown的部分椅子曾于2022年在路易威登（Louis Vuitton）的展览中展出，其他作品则被密苏里州的圣路易斯艺术博物馆和旧金山现代艺术博物馆收藏。此外，一些作品还在苏格兰国家博物馆、鹿特丹博伊曼斯·范伯宁恩美术馆以及曼彻斯特城市大学特别收藏馆永久展出。