“Last Leaf” was created to challenge our high consumerism society’s perception that more is better. While there is no denial that developments in technology and processes have vastly enhanced the quality of our lifestyles, particularly in developed nations, this has also come at a cost.
Be it cheap processed fast food consumption, fast fashion, frenzied sales events like Black Fridays, Sales, etc., there is a deeply embedded culture of relentless consumption for products and services.
The abundance of under priced goods has created a society careless with spending and indifference to wastage. The effects have been widely documented and point to the devastating effects of our ravenous appetite for consumables. But what happens when we consume the last of our precious resources?
“Last Leaf” depicts a future where our world loses our last and final natural resource. When the last leaf has fallen and none is left to take its place. It captures the final moments of the withering, dying leaf as it falls to the ground, the darkening of its veins as the last semblance of life ebbs away.
Painstakingly hand shaped and moulded by Will Marx from reclaimed Queensland Hoop Pine and Cypress Pine that have been salvaged from the demolition yards. “Last Leaf” is not just a symbolic reminder of how finite our resources are but also how we have the ability to extend it’s longevity simply by the choices we make. Like choosing sustainable or recycled materials, reusing, reengineering, and repurposing.
Just as we have created a culture of mindless spending, we can begin a systemic change towards a culture engrained in mindful selections. “Last Leaf” illustrates the essence of how just a single item selected for its functionality is beautiful. A creative interpretation of the mainstream sideboard where more often than not, everything and anything is recklessly thrown into it.
Rather than taking up more floorspace, the piece is wall mounted. The design emphasises the point of how a solitary leaf can be quintessentially beautiful and purposeful. We don’t need more to make it better. While it doesn’t have a tonne of storage like your atypical buffet, it encourages the user to pause and ponder over what they really cherish and need so that every item selected will be mindfully considered and decided on.
