Phellem is the outermost layer of tree bark — a living skin that protects, renews and adapts, much like our own. Though essential to the life of the tree, bark has long been overlooked compared to wood, despite its extraordinary biodiversity of colours, textures and patterns.
At first glance, trunks may appear similar and monotonous. Yet bark is as individual as a fingerprint: its surfaces are shaped by species, climate, habitat and time. Each one tells a different botanical story, evolved to shield the vital layers beneath from heat, cold and external stress.
When bark is damaged, a natural defence mechanism intervenes: the tree releases a complex liquid that hardens in contact with air, forming a protective resin barrier that seals the wound and guards the living tissue from bacteria, fungi and parasites. Inspired by this ancient instinct, alcarol preserves each bark surface with a bio-based transparent resin, echoing the tree’s own gesture — safeguarding it while revealing every detail of its organic identity.
This clear, flat layer allows the bark’s botanical richness to emerge intact, frozen as it appears in its original habitat. The interlocking compositions recall the tradition of wood inlay, but with an even broader expressive range: the incredible variety of bark — even within the same species — becomes a new palette of matter. What results is a mosaic of living surfaces, a celebration of polymorphism where nature’s skins are preserved, honoured and brought into contemporary space.
