rien n’est moins comparable – 2018 // (nothing is less comparable) exhibition view, Beyond Bliss, biennale of Bangkok – wood : Teng, Teak, Padouk – 5 trunks – 480 x 35 cm each one // The rare species of Thailand are very prized, the forest is protected there since a few years. Nearly 70% of their forest has been deforested since the 1940’s, and the demand, especially from China, for choice furniture and luxury wood species is very strong. For decades, the Danes have exported the famous teak from the Nordic Design School to Denmark.. The East Asiatic Building where I was exhibiting my installation was precisely the customs office, on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, where the logs of Teak transited before taking the sea to the North. – On this occasion, the tree came in the architecture. A parquet floor made from the same species as these trees (Padouk) welcomed the public. The chain of production was thus embodied, from its origin to its transformation. The installation is also an invitation to stroll around the city. (© Masahiro Handa)