Conceived by the "movement designer" Ucka Ludovic Ilolo, and produced by éditions du côté with the help of artisans from the Basque Country, this suspended seat tells a thousand and one stories.
The function of this "sculpture for living" is as simple as its evocative power is multifaceted. It is indeed a seat, whose characteristic high back evokes African talking chairs. Its surprising position, perceived as impossible, nevertheless makes us question our own sanity. This is the intended effect of its designer, Ucka Ludovic Ilolo, who thus encourages us to "break free from our rigid certainties and embrace movement and curiosity." He himself has lived several lives in one: a multidisciplinary artist, renowned dancer and choreographer, he has come to the conclusion that movement is the common thread between all the arts, and that it allows us to align body and mind, according to his aptly named concept of "gestelligence." This concept finds its embodiment in the suspended chair he conceived: "As a designer, I design how objects move, but in other spaces, as a choreographer, I design how humans move." This living sculpture, Elkano, was designed and created with this in mind. It is a material embodiment of the idea I champion: movement is at the heart of all that exists. Although immobile, this precarious seat invites movement. Challenging thought with its strangeness, it invites the experience of action, a gesture that sets it in motion, before it naturally regains its harmonious stability.
The name of this unique dancing object is a tribute to the Basque explorer and sailor Juan Sebastián Elcano, Ferdinand Magellan's lieutenant who completed his first voyage around the globe in 1522. Elkano 's metaphorical form evokes that of a boat rocked by the waves and returning to port, and its creation itself was a human adventure. In meeting Ucka Ludovic Ilolo, Marc-Alexandre Ducoté found "the fresh perspective of an artist outside the design establishment, which allowed us to create something truly unique ." Since 2015, the founder of Éditions du Côté has been committed to "changing the way we work by returning to local production, slower processes, and more sustainable objects, while also opening ourselves up to external collaborations." To create Elkano, the Basque Country-based company called upon the expertise of a metalworker and a powder coating specialist for its aluminum and stainless steel structure, a basket maker for the Danish rope work, and a leatherworker—respectively, the artisans of Inox Pyrénées, Projet Color, the Zurjole Academy, and Atelier Arano. Since the project's completion in 2022, Elkano has become an iconic creation. While the piece was conceived as a limited edition, new versions may emerge, varying the colors, materials, finishes, and sizes, and also allowing for outdoor use. As Ucka Ludovic Ilolo wishes to continue his artistic explorations, a new object is in development with Éditions du Côté. Once again, it will question our relationship to the body and gesture, this movement of thought.
editionsducote.com/fr/work/elkano
