The bandage

"When the object that is produced, the photographic image has the ability to make tears come to your eyes; to inspire you to the point where you have to catch your breath, then nothing else matters".

John Sexton 

Before Eli Chissick graduated his design studies in H.I.T he was working in a carpentry workshop. After his studies, he designed for "Tupperware" company (For the sake of my ecological sustainable fans I should say, although it's about plastic their quality is lifetime, as opposed to cheap kind of plastic boxes you have to throw away after 2-3 uses). But than he felt something was missing...

***

אלי צ'יזיק עבד בנגריה לפני שהתחיל את לימודי העיצוב שלו במכון הטכנולוגי בחולון. לאחר הלימודים הוא עבד כמעצב בחברת "טפרוור" (זו שעושה כלים מפלסטיק, ולטובת שוחרי איכות הסביבה אציין שאם כבר קופסאות פלסטיק, אז עדיף פלסטיק בר קיימא שזה אומר קופסאות רב-פעמיות ואיכותיות, שמחזיקות שנים, בניגוד לקופסאות פלסטיק אחרות שאחרי שניים שלושה שימושים נשברות ומוצאות דרכן אל הפח). אבל אחרי תקופה מסויימת בחברה הרגיש שמשהו חסר לו...

There is a special eco-craft-educational blood running in the Chissick family: His father is an Englishman who comes from a long paintbrush manufacturers dynasty, his mother is an educational persona who wrote a few books, and his brother is a food picker guru (Food for thought). No wonder Chissick comes with a lot of compassion for waste. Especially carpentry's wood waste.

***

צ'יזיק מגיע ממשפחה מזן מיוחד. מן שילוב כזה של אומנות-חינוך-סביבה: אבא שלו הוא אנגלי, נצר ליצרני מכחולים איכותיית לציירים (עוד באנגליה...), אמא שלו היא אשת חינוך עם רקורד של כמה ספרים מאחוריה, ואחיו - הוא מלקט אוכל וגורו רציני של תזונה. לכן החמלה שיש לו לפסולת, במיוחד לפסולת עץ מנגריות, נראית לי מאוד טבעית.

One day he was listening to a great inspiring lecture of a dutch sustainable designers group, and when he came out of that talk, there was ONE IMAGE stuck in his mind: a bandage! The stripes of a bandage!

***

יום אחד לאחר שהקשיב להרצאה של קבוצת מעצבים מהולנד, הוא שם לב שהוא מסתובב עם דימוי שלא יוצא לו מהראש. הדימוי הזה היה תחבושת. או למעשה הפסים האלכסוניים שיוצרת חבישה של גבס.

We didn't speak about this image. We didn't have to. It was one powerful image and I just figured it out by my self - like the last part of a puzzle. His craft talent, his passion for upcycle sustainable design, and this compassion for wood waste - they were all gathered under this bandage image.

***

לא דיברנו על זה. אבל גם לא היה צריך. זה היה דימוי חזק וברור. והוא השלים לי את התמונה כמו החתיכה האחרונה של הפאזל. אומנות הנגרות, הכישרון והתשוקה לעיצוב בר קיימא והחמלה שלו לפסולת עץ. כל אלה התחברו לי יחד תחת הדימוי של התחבושת

Here are some of Chissick's interpretation for this bandage image. Upcycle wood waste for high quality designed furniture. His works have been exhibited in USA, Europe and Israel, winning numerous international design awards.

He calls them "Wood Con Fusion".
I call them "Up-cyclutely wonderful furniture".

***

הנה כמה מהפרשנויות של צ'יזיק לדימוי של התחבושת. מיחדוש פסולת עץ לטובת ריהוט איכותי ובר קיימא. העבודות שלו הוצגו בארה"ב, אירופה וישראל וזכו במספר פרסי עיצוב בינלאומיים.

 

 



 

And nothing else matters!

Urban Forest Harvest

Ori Ben Zvi's studio is located in a workshops area in the south of Tel Aviv. Immediately as I walked into the main street I could feel the special vibes, lots of graffiti and lots of simple smiles. The alley was very narrow and made me feel intimate with every passer-by. Around 11:00 one could get an awful asthma due to the sawdust cloud. One of the tenant joked with me that they usually charge 25$ per a photograph (because I carried my camera with me), or that wasn't a joke?!

Now days Ori is full of new thoughts. One of this thoughts is the "Urban Forest Harvest" (hopefully he is going to "wiki" it soon), meaning that today there are more urban population than rural, and by that expression he is comparing the forest's harvest to the city waste, saying there are seasons in this case too. For example, last Saturday on his routine tour he found some umbrellas (as it was the beginning of winter).



Ori uses 100% recycled wood. He founds it in the streets, from carpentry shops at the neighborhood and sometimes he pays a visit in "Hiria" (the biggest landfill in Israel).


upcycled (1)
The Shelf-Drawer. (If you are a drawer, in your next life you can be a shelf)


upcycled (2)
The Stool. (If you are a carpentry's waste, in your next life you can be a stool)


upcycled (3)
The Spotlight. (If you are an olive can, in your next life you can be a "Kalmata Spotlight")



What would you do with an old (broken...) umbrella? and what's the meaning of "Ubico" - his brand's name (Ori's answers are above).



The concept of "The Wake" project (the trunk above in the center), is taken from the Christian funeral ceremony. It's about the opportunity to be with our precious for just a little longer. The trunk made from all kinds of wasted wood pieces, allowing the material (in its final grace) to stay with us for now, and maybe, in a sustainable way, forever.
"The Wake" has been shown in London's "100% design" showroom and in Singapore where it was rewarded for two prices.



My thoughts about "The Wake"'s compositions

There is an image accompanying Ori in his work and it is to take all existing wood objects and to plant them back in the woods. This image conceals in Ori's power of creation.