A decade after its debut, Max Lamb revisits 'My Grandfather’s Tree' at Gallery FUMI

“I wanted my grandfather’s tree to survive beyond its rooted life, to offer it an afterlife and celebrate the inherent potential of the material within.”

My Grandfather’s Tree by British designer Max Lamb, on view at Gallery FUMI in London, UK, from January 30 to March 22, 2025, serves as “both a personal tribute and a meditation on material legacy,” as the art gallery notes. This year marks the tenth anniversary of its debut at Somerset House in 2015.

A decade later, the work remains a poignant exploration of sustainability and our emotional connection with objects. On display are 13 key pieces from the original 130-piece series, chosen to coincide with Lamb’s grandfather’s 100th birthday. Revisiting this collection honours not only the remarkable life of the tree but also the values of family legacy, resourceful craftsmanship and a profound connection to the land—principles central to Lamb’s creative practice. 

In 2009, an enormous ash tree, which had stood beside his grandfather’s Yorkshire cottage for almost two centuries, was felled. Rather than allowing the tree to be reduced to firewood—“a common but unceremonious fate”—Lamb chose to preserve its life in a different form.

Planted in 1822 during Britain’s Industrial Revolution, the tree had once towered over 200 acres of farmland, its branches stretching far enough to offer views of York Minster 25 miles away. For Lamb, the tree held deep personal significance. As a child, he had spent countless hours at his grandfather’s farm, where he first developed an understanding of materials and craftsmanship long before pursuing a career in design.

As the tree aged, its condition became a concern for the safety of both the cottage and Lamb’s grandfather. It was carefully dismantled by a specialist tree surgeon, with each section cut at regular intervals to preserve its natural structure—knots, branches and crotches. Divided into 130 logs, the tree’s 187 growth rings tell the story of the environment it grew in, from years of heavy rainfall to periods of drought.

“Lamb kept the processing minimal to maintain the integrity of the material, sanding and oiling the exposed surfaces but otherwise leaving each piece untouched. A handwritten text by his grandfather was branded onto the base of each piece as a final act of inscription,” mentions the project’s press release.

In 2015, the final 130 pieces were presented at Somerset House by Gallery FUMI, displayed in the Embankment Gallery to mirror the original structure of the living tree. Six years after the tree’s felling, the wood had stabilised, and its natural cracks and splits—typically seen as imperfections—were embraced by Lamb as part of its ongoing transformation.

Design writer Emily King notes: “The appeal for Max is not only the simplicity of the design, but also the information that remains apparent in the finished pieces. Usually, the process of turning wood into furniture obscures the history of the material, but in this case, the tree’s rings become the focus of the object. The passage of time is the point.”