Balegur, Donostia 2016 and Global

This week, we dedicate our post to the Balegur project, by Basque artist Joseba Mercader, selected by Donostia 2016. A project which expresses his latent concern for the environment through his designs of whales.

Balegur is the personal project of Joseba Mercader, a photographer and audio-visual professional who, in his spare time, collects wood and other materials that the sea spits and then transforms them into works of art. His best known works are his wooden whales, which have also given name to his company: « Balegur », a name which comes from the union of two words, « balea » and « Egur », which can be translated as whale and wood.

Mercader’s project stems from his concern about the environment and the amount of materials found on the coasts. Like this artist, ENEA is also a company concerned about the sustainability of its products. This is why it has been designing for years furniture for residential and public spaces which is respectful with the environment.

And it is here where the roads intersect for Balegur and ENEA. Design, ecology and the use of environment-friendly materials. Joseba Mercader uses wood as main material and ENEA also uses wood from sustainable forests and polypropylenes to build its seats or tables.

But this is not the only ideology coincidence between both companies. Our GLOBAL chair is one of these seats whose design, executed by Josep Lluscà, is part of the daily life of the multi-talented artist. A chair designed to suit a multitude of spaces and needs, just like the woods Joseba collects in the beaches of the Basque coast and adapts and later transforms into small wonderful sculptures.

To sit, meditate, think, create, draw, capture…