Magazine founder and surfer Joran Briand puts it simply: »West is the Best offers an experience of surfing through tale and travel.« For this third edition, they booked a ticket for Mexico, »a country where surfing presents a conquest,« he says. »And yet, underneath its rigorous facade, the Pacific coast divulges ample surprises for those knowledgeable enough to seize them. This is the case for all the creative women and men to whom this edition gives voice.« French designer Joran Briand tells us more about this newly-launched magazine, made with love along the Pacific coast this past winter.

Every two years, the Paris-based Studio Briand & Berthereau looks for creators, artists and entrepreneurs passionate about the ocean and fascinated by surfing. »Whether they’re designers, architects, or stylists, their testimonials serve as sources of inspiration. From Puerto Escondido to Costa Careyes and in passing by Zihuatanejo, they learned resilience in order to create tailor-made lifestyles where work and pleasure are one in the same,« he explains. »Their lives orbit around surfing in just a balance between hedonism and spirituality, and in the heart the Third-Place – and in their image – ecosystems open allowing us to dream together. They share their backgrounds and projects with a single, yet elegant, motto: work with passion, but with your feet in the sand. In Mexico, some utopias have become realities.«

After a first volume focused on California, out in 2013, and a second edition created about France launched in 2016, the publisher Pyramid offered to present West is the Best Mexico. In this third issue, Joran Briand wanted to pay tribute to women, »so rarely visible in this resolutely masculine world.« Going beyond clichés, transcending the expected from La Saladita to Costa Careyes, this new edition displays common visions able to gather a whole lifestyle, »where surfing unveils a spirituality that reconnects us to nature.«

This West is the Best 3 Mexico will be officially launched in Paris on May, 18 and in Biarritz on June 28. 

Photos: ©Joran Briand

Find more infos on West is the Best

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The SAIL IN FESTIVAL embodies the perfect combination between nautical culture and sailing innovation. Created in 2014, the European festival blends the past, present and future of the sailing culture.

Starting on the 7th of March, 2019, the 6th edition of the SAIL IN FESTIVAL will be the occasion to celebrate sailing through a series of 20 screenings made out of stories, adventures and races, as well as 15 conferences with international speakers, 3 art exhibitions and a workshop.

Urtzi Sagarrubay, director of the SAIL IN festival, says: »We’re creating a unique ecosystem able to combine two essential lines; the educational and sociocultural aspect with the festival, and the innovation aspect and economical development with this special day dedicated to professionals (SAIL INN PRO).« 

Many legendary sailors  have shared their stories on the stage of the SAIL IN. Legends like  Sir Robin Knox – Johnston or Loick Peyron, who once said of the SAIL IN: »You feel the whole team’s desire to share their passion with others. It’ something very beautiful, very pure.«

This year is not different. Among the many incredible guests and presenters will be  Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who needs no introduction. Aged 74, recently spent 211 days at sea and became the winner of the Golden Globe race, a solo world tour, without assistance, without stop and without GPS. He will receive the very first price entitled SAIL IN. For this 2019 edition, art remains a central element.

Another of the this years highlights is the photo exhibition by renowned Italian photographer Carlo Borlenghi whose artworks convey the balance between humans, boats and maritime stories.

When we first met the founders at the Blue Factory and heard the story of their festival,  their vision and dreams for the future, we knew we wanted to sail along. It was love at first sight. Now we are proud to announce Panthalassa will be supporting the SAIL IN  as an official collaborator. We will be helping them spread the word through all our channels, and our Plastic Family will be part of the SAIL IN art exhibition  at the BBK space. We warmly invite you to this 4-day event held in Bilbao on the Bay of Biscay, one of the most popular and important maritime cities in Europe. 

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At number 50 Avenida de Navarra, behind the large windows of the San Sebastian-based Blue Factory, Dani Garreton draws at her desk, reminding the visitors her enthusiasm to paint daily. On one of the sunny days of an endless Spring season, the Chilean artist receives me with smiles, folk music blasting out and her adorable little Shiba Inu laid on a pillow.

When we enter the former abandoned building converted into a high ceiling creative space, we are struck by an inimitable fascination for the blue color. Seafarers, surfers, seagulls and fish canvas sit near windows that touch the ceiling. A penchant for the ocean is clearly visible through the Chilean artist’s work who finds »all sea creatures so fascinating«. Stuffed full with wooden planks, watercolor paint sets, drawings on paper, buckets of pencils and brushes, Dani’s studio is an opportunity to better understand her innate creativity.

As a youngster, Dani left Chile for Europe. A few years later, she settled down in the Basque Country where she enjoys every single piece of surrounding nature. »Nature is my first love,« she says. »It helps me keep my sanity.« As we discuss  her childhood in Chile, her attachment to the Panthalassa Society family and desire to raise awareness through art, Daniela reminds us that the ocean is what keeps her creatively moving forward. »Using my art as a message for a more conscious living. Expressing myself and finding that freedom I had as a child.«

Let’s get started. Can you begin by telling us how you would define yourself?

I was born in Chile, a very long country with more than 4000 km of coasts. From an early age, I was influenced by the sea. I still remember those endless summers at the beach with my little sister, collecting shells, building fantastic worlds in the sand, swimming and just having this feeling of total freedom. I grew up in a very creative family and we were always pushed to express ourselves through art.

How has your approach to drawing and painting developed over the years?

I think there is this rollercoaster with drawing and painting through the years. When you’re a kid, the creative process is very organic and intuitive. It’s purely about feelings and emotions. A splash of color, some crazy lines and suddenly you have a giraffe! Everything is allowed. When you approach the teenage years, you become more perfectionist, you try to draw realistic, you want to learn to draw and paint as perfect as possible and finally get the perfect technique. Then the challenge is to unlearn all this and find the freedom you had as a kid. Be able to let yourself go and not be obsessed with getting the perfect result but the closest to your real emotion. Feed that confidence you had as a kid. As Picasso said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Based in San-Sebastian today, you tend to immerse yourself in nature. Can you tell us a bit about your daily routine?

Nature is my first love. It helps me keep my sanity. First thing I do in the morning is kiss and pet my dog, then same to my man. Then we go for a walk with my pup, I breathe, I admire the ocean, and we walk to the Blue Factory where I have my studio. I never take the car in the city, I walk or ride my bike. Being able to get to your workplace without the need of a car or public transport is a major privilege. You get to work with such a good mood. In  the evening, we take a long stroll in the beach with my pup and if the sea is gentle, I go for a surf or swim.

What does the ocean mean to you?

The ocean is life. Its change. Its constant movement. It teaches you so much. It really forces you to be in the present moment, be aware and in synch with nature’s rhythm. Life starts floating in amniotic fluid, which has a similar composition to ocean water, so I feel we have this very primitive connection to the sea.

A penchant for the ocean is clearly revealed through your work since you depict water, capture seafarers, surfers, seagulls and fish on your canvas. What kind of sea creatures or ocean-related characters do you find particularly inspiring?

I find all sea creatures so fascinating. After I read the book DEEP I became so fascinated by whales and how the communicate. It’s out of this world.

Panthalassa translates the ocean into stories with powerful voices. Today, you’re one of them appearing as a major member of the Panthalassa Society. Can you tell us more about this collaboration?

Panthalassa embodies all the love and respect I feel for the ocean. I have been a part of the Panthalassa society since the beginning and it’s like a family. We are all driven by the same force of blue love so it’s really a perfect match for me to collaborate with them.

Today, through your work, you bring awareness to some environmental issues. You’ve been part of numerous projects like the recent “Stop Sucking: Say not to plastic straws!” campaign, reminding us that 500 million plastic straws are used every single day in the US today. According to you, do you use your creativity as a tool for climate action?

I think communicating through art is such a powerful tool, art knows no language, it speaks to the emotions so you feel touched and want to be a part of the solution. As individuals, we all have a responsibility to support a good cause we feel close to our hearts. First hand, I see how plastic pollution is destroying our oceans, how climate change is killing entire ecosystems so I do whaterver I can to help.

Do you have a favorite artwork so far?

Probably one of the first fisherman I ever draw that was inspired by Jacques Cousteau, named “Jacques”. I hold that one dearly because it really opened some kind of doors I had locked inside.

Earlier this year, you set your studio in the Panthalassa’s Blue Factory in San Sebastian, an interdisciplinary place, crossroad of the Panthalassa Society. Can you pay us a visit?

I used to work from home and was pretty much like a lone wolf. I had convinced myself the life of an artist was that of solitude. After a few years, it really started messing with my head and I found harder and harder to draw the border between work life and home life. Having my own studio is the best feeling in the world. Having my own space is sacred. I cannot wait for Mondays because I love coming to the Blue Factory so much. It has such a nice vibe, you can breathe creativity, you can smell the ocean. Since we opened it, a lot of people just knock at the door and come in. We’ve had people visiting from all over the world and it has this awesome sinergy going on.

Looking to the future, what can we look forward to coming up with you?

I am working on some collaborations and a future exhibition next summer at the Blue Factory Gallery.

Discover more of Dani Garreton’s work on her website.

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Photographer Tyler Haughey grew up less than a mile from the beach just outside of Asbury Park, in New Jersey. On weekends, he used to spend time at his grandparents’ beach house in Barnegat Light where started a true fascination for coastal towns and regions.

Earlier this year, New York-based photographer released his new photobook entitled Everything is Regional, a print project described as a monograph that examines the built environment of northeastern coastal towns and explores how we use, interact with, and remember places designed and known for summer recreation. 

This new body of works led Tyler to explore memory, leisure and architecture as common threads in this popular summer destination where « US Presidents have summered here, while at the same time the middle class was vacationing a short distance away. » We had a chat with Tyler to learn more about his deep connection to the Jersey Shore and evoke the dichotomy that this wildly popular and often controversial northeast region embodies.

Hi Tyler, can you tell us a bit about your background?

I grew up at the Jersey Shore, less than a mile from the beach just outside of Asbury Park. I’ve always been innately drawn to the vernacular architecture and characteristics of the state, especially along the coast. My dad was a union sign painter and artist in his own right, and I would go on drives and walks on the beach with him as a kid. He’d always be actively looking, pointing out the unique, strange things we would pass or come across, and he would ask me what I liked about this or about that, colors and logos, that kind of thing. That had a big impact on what I would become visually drawn to as I got older and really started thinking about my own interests and perspective.

You’ve been studying in Philadelphia, PA. Tell us more about your studies.

I went to Drexel University in Philadelphia, where I studied Photography and Art History. I was intuitively interested in similar subject matters and ideas as a few of the teachers there, so they were able to read that very early on and make recommendations for whose work I should be looking at and studying, which was super instrumental in my growth as a photographer. Drexel isn’t necessarily known for the arts, but their photography program is seriously top notch and on par with any other art school in the northeast.

How did you get introduced to photography?

I started taking pictures in middle school. My dad had gotten one of those really early point and shoot digital cameras in the late 90s, the ones where you had to carry a battery pack around in your pocket in order to use it, and I used to shoot photos of my friends skateboarding and fooling around. I kept an interest in it throughout high school, while also working with video. I was lucky enough to be able to pursue and study photography on a more serious level in college.

Earlier this year, you released your photobook entitled Everything is Regional. Was it a way to celebrate and pay tribute to your native Jersey Shore?

That was definitely a major reason why I started making much of the work that ended up in the book: documenting the part of the world that I’m most connected with and showing this often misrepresented place with regard and from a local’s point of view is something I’ve always been interested in. Expanding on that idea and bringing it to a larger area (the northeast) for the book, while still keeping New Jersey as its nucleus, was both challenging and important to me.

Where does the title Everything is Regional come from?

Everything Is Regional is the opening line to a poem by Robert Pinsky, a former US Poet Laureate, about his hometown, which is a few miles down the road from mine. The first two stanzas of the poem, “Long Branch, New Jersey”, are:

Everything is regional,

And this is where I was born, dear,

And conceived,

And first moved to tears,

And last irritated to the same point.

It is bounded on three sides by similar places

And on one side by vast, uncouth houses

A glum boardwalk and,

As we say, The Beach.

For the non-american, it’s important to remind that the Jersey Shore used to be a popular summer destination in the 1950s. How would you describe the northeastern coastal area?

It’s actually been a popular summer destination since the late 19th century, when train travel became accessible. With New Jersey specifically, the diversity that arises along its relatively small 130-mile coastline is amazing – from military bases and massive summer homes to untouched wildlife preservations and blue-collar beach towns. US Presidents have summered here, while at the same time the middle class was vacationing a short distance away. This dichotomy still exists today, and that juxtaposition is part of what keeps me exploring and photographing these areas. There’s a place for everybody, no matter which socioeconomic level you’re a part of.

For this new book, you’ve been combining photographs taken since 2010. What do all these photos have in common?

Though taken in different locales throughout the northeast, all of the photographs in the book examine similar themes – memory, leisure, vernacular characteristics and architecture, land-use, history, disillusionment. These are things that I’ve been exploring since I began to take photography seriously, and it was a lot of fun to go back through my work from the last eight years and see how presumably disparate images from different time periods and projects worked together.

As shown in your previous project « Ebb Tide », you seem hugely influenced by the off-season vacancy of a tourist destination. Tell us more about this specific unpopulated emptiness of the winter months that fascinates you…

This stems from growing up near the beach. The post-summer months, when the tourists have left and the area becomes quiet again, are always what you look forward to. There’s something both interesting and eerie about seeing places that were so recently bustling with life just sitting empty. They’re vacant, but still suggest a palpable recent human presence. Choosing to photograph during this time of year stems from a desire to show these places in a way that most people don’t get to see. It also allows me to strip away any distractions that might arise during the summertime.

How would you define your relationship to the ocean and water in general?

The ocean has always been in my life, and some of both my earliest and best memories involve it. If I go any substantial amount of time without seeing it, I find myself unconsciously thinking about it and being drawn to it – this has been especially true while living in New York City for the last five years and while I was at school in Philadelphia. My fiancé is from Rockaway Beach, NY, so we both have a strong connection to the water and are lucky enough to be able to go back to either of our respective hometowns when we need a fix!

What’s next for you Tyler?

I’m beginning to bounce around ideas for my next project – I’m in the research phase at the moment. I’m looking forward to seeing where that leads me and eventually getting back out there to start shooting again soon.

Discover Tyler Haughey’s work on his website.

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In many of my images I aim to create a compositional waltz between the subjects and their own shadows.

Over the years, composition around food has made photographer Suzanne Saroff’s reputation. Arranging items, playing with fish, fruits and flowers, New York-based artist alters our perception of everyday objects.

In this series of still-life photographs, the photographer is looking for experimental explorations. Oranges, lobsters, mangos, watermelons, avocados or papayas slowly become abstract, strange and beautiful. Through light, colors and evolving shapes, food and flowers are first stretched then multiplied.

Using glasses and cylinders of all shapes and sizes filled with different amounts of water, Suzanne Saroff distords the shape of the original object, thus changing the perspectives and the way viewers interact with well-known objects.

Follow Suzanne Saroff’s work on her website.

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Born at the Blue Factory in San Sebastian, the Plastic Family made their way to the Côte des Basques in Biarritz. To celebrate World CleanUp Day, the colorful family of three visited the French beach town on September, 15.

Using the plastic found on the beaches of the Basque Country (Spain & France), Panthalassa decided to ‘dress’ the family in order to help raise awareness about the plastic problem the ocean is facing. 

Over the years, throughout the « Sea and Gather » initiative, Rebecca Kudela, a member of the Panthalassa Society, has been proving her obsession for beach-combing and her passion for design. Her work was a key inspiration for the idea of using art and creativity to encourage people to consume and use less single-use plastics. 

As part of a global environmental movement, the Plastic Family art installation will be travelling around Europe to save our ocean’s biggest threat. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see the Plastic Family in Biarritz!

Stay tuned to find out where the family is heading next!

Photos: Rebecca Kudela

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Described as an exploration of »mutability—of identity and gender, natural landscapes and phenomena, language and meaning«, Roni Horn’s sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, books, and installations reveal moments of shift.

Her illuminating and translucent metal and cast-glass sculptures appear as pools of water. While the glossy flat surface invites the viewer to look inside, it definitely encourages interpretation. Roni understands water as « a form of perpetual relation, not so much a substance but a thing whose identity is based on its relation to other things. Most of what you’re looking at when you look at water is light reflection. »

Over the years, Roni Horn has been exploring key themes like gender, identity and androgyny – the mutability of her own identity. Whether it be pigments drawings made from powdered pigment, turpentine and varnish, portraiture, photographic installations or sculptures, the materials are at the heart of her art approach. 

In the 1970s, the artist traveled to Iceland by motorcycle and this trip had a major impact on her work and influenced her practice. In 1982, the artist chose to live solo in a lighthouse in Iceland for two months. Similar to her country studio in upstate New York, Horn has always been fascinated by isolation. »We get a lot of wind and snow, and these wide eaves really protect me and the building as well.« she said in an interview with Wallpaper. »When I’ve had the choice [in my life] to make, it was always toward the solitary – being out in the wild with complete psychological freedom.«

As an ode to to Iceland and water, New York-based multidisciplinary artist started to produce cast-glass sculptures in the mid-1990s. »The seductively glossy surface invites the viewer to gaze into the optically pristine interior of the sculpture, as if looking down on a body of water through an aqueous oculus« explains Hauser and Wirth. Repetition and doubling remain central to her work. »On a physical level, is there anything more redundant than water?« asks The Flag Art Foundation.

Throughout Roni Horn’s work, from Iceland’s hot springs to the murky Thames, her relationship and associations with water has been an essential element. In 2012,during her stay at the one-bedroom installation ‘A Room for London’, October 2012; a riverboat resting on top of the roof of Queen Elizabeth Hall by the river Thames, Roni Horn wrote »Saying Water«. Here’s an extract said in a powerful 40-minute monologue. »When you talk of the water, are you talking of yourself, or the weather?« The river surrounds you, and takes you away. Dark water makes you invisible, while also relieving you from the demands of sight. Thinking about water, is thinking about the future. And importantly, water is sexy. Because it is powerful, vulnerable, energetic, fragile. Near it. Immersed in it. Deeper into it. Washing all over me.«

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If you walk in the next few days through the beaches of San Sebastian’s »La Concha« or Biarritz you may come across a special family. A family of plastic created by Panthalassa that aims to make visible the great amount of waste that ends up in the sea every day. »If the sea could see us, it would see us as plastic beings. Our seas are the destination for more than 8 million tons of plastic per year. « This impressive figure was the one that inspired its founder and creative director, Sergio Penzo, to partner with Rebecca Kudela and create the installation »Plastic Family«.

Each family in Spain and France produces an average of 145 kilos of plastic waste per year. Much of it goes in to the ocean, the same ocean that these families enjoy during the summer on their beach vacations. Recognizing ourselves as the source of the problem is the first step in modifying our habits, that is why we have created a typical family that exposes this reality and confronts us with the plastic crisis, a reflection that today is essential. At Panthalassa we believe that art has the ability to attract attention, while at the same time sending a message that resonates and lasts over time.

»Plastic Family« was created with plastic waste collected on in the main beaches of the Spanish and French Basque country during the month of August. With them, we have »dressed« a family that during the last week of August and September will be exposed on the same beaches to raise awareness among passers-by of the great responsibility we have in our daily decisions on reducing, recycling and reusing. For example avoiding buying or using single-use plastics.

This project was conceived by Sergio Penzo and its development has been under the artistic direction of Rebecca Kudela, a Californian designer based in Biarritz. It has been encouraging to see how this project has motivated friends and family and even holiday makers who have spontaneously joined the plastic collection tasks. 

Currently the world produces 300 million tons of plastic waste every year. This is almost equivalent to the weight of the entire human population, and half of this plastic is designed to be used only once. This data is provided by the UN Environment Program (UNEP). Researchers estimate that more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been manufactured since the early 1950s. Of these, only 9% have been recycled, around 12% have been incinerated, and the remaining 79% has not been recycled. It has ended up in the environment (landfills, garbage dumps and oceans). In the next decade, our oceans will have about one kilo of plastic per three kilograms of fish. Through the so-called microplastics, small plastic particles up to 5 mm in diameter, which are ingested by fish, enter our food chain. If current trends continue, our oceans may contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Panthalassa is a platform that brings together creators who love the sea and who have set themselves the task of creating and spreading stories that put a spotlight on the fragility and beauty of our oceans. “Plastic Family” is their first project since they opened the gallery and collaborative space ‘Blue Factory’ with headquarters in San Sebastian, last July.

More about our work: Panthalassa.tv

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»Inspired by a childhood spent on the beaches of Cornwall building castles, boats and tunnels in the sand, I decided to return to my favourite beach at Caerhays on the south coast of Cornwall to produce a stool using a primitive form of sand-casting. Molten pewter was poured into a sand mould sculpted directly into the beach by hand, and once cooled the sand was dug away to reveal a pewter stool.« Designer Max Lamb creates modern pewter furnitures such as a desk or a stool, cast in sand on a Cornish beach.

What’s pewter? An ancient alloy composed of 92% tin, 6% antinomy and 2% copper able to melt down at 200°C. 30 stainless steel saucepans of molten pewter over gas camping stoves have been used to create metal on the beach. Helped by tudents from the Falmouth University 3D Design department, it took 180kg of pewter and just over an hour for the molten pewter to cool for the desk to be dug out, lifted from the sand, and washed with the nearby seawater.

Years after, Max Lamb decided to return to his favourite beach in Cornwall in order to create a stool directly into the wet sand, mainly using tin with small amounts of copper and other metals. »My Pewter stool was made using a very simple form of sand casting. I chose to use the natural landscape of Caerhays beach on the South coast of Cornwall to make the stool.« says British designer Lamb. »Most of my childhood was spent on this, and other, Cornish beaches building castles, boats and tunnels in the sand, and I decided it would be nice to return to my favourite beach to produce a stool using a process Cornwall was once famous for.« Tin mining was known to be a major industry in Cornwall, becoming an important part of life in the region in the early 19th century. The minor inevitable imperfections and geometric pattern make each piece unique. The stool is definitely linked to the environment where it’s been created proving the seaside to be an important part of the intensive manufacturing process.

Discover more of Max Lamb’s work on his website.

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»Provençal« is the word that comes to mind when thinking of Antoine Boudin’s work. Barrulèu, Round e blu, Arundo Donax, Mirau… Born  in Avignon, in south eastern France, Boudin gives Provencal names to his creations. Drawing inspiration directly from his origins and the sources of the materials that surround him, the French designer is often described as a marine designer. Influenced by his obsession for the Mediterranean sea, Boudin constantly explores the potential and identity of water. »I need water, I need the sea, I need the ocean, both for my mental and physical health. I need to be in shape, to swim, to paddle, and to glide on water.«  He especially focuses on a form of sustainable development while using canes of Provence, agave, and nets. We sat down with the French designer for a quick chat.

Where does your sea virus come from?

We used to have a family house in Saint Tropez when I was younger. I used to sail on a sailing dinghy, an Optimist, a Laser, a Hobie Cat. I also started wind-surfing when I was 6 years old. It’s all about passions and crush! As a kid, I dreamt of naval architecture.

What influence does the sea exert on your creations?

My work deals with the maritime, nautical, and aquatic universes. Whether it is fresh water, salt water, frozen water or even powder snow, to me, water is an essential element. It is the very basis of life. For a designer, I find it interesting to focus on where we come from. I find it even more exciting to inject this element into my work, in fact, this is what I enjoy the most. I try to bring a little mystery and that of the unknown to the »earthlings«. Sea People, as we call them, those who really live the sea, are UFOs. I sail, I surf, I spend time in the water, however seafarers have a different relationship with life. So trying to bring all this into Earthling’s routine is always a bit surprising. When I tell people that I build boats, they are wide eyed, and listen to what I say. Often people are interested in the boats and in the project. The sea will always remain both a fascinating and a frightening place. At the same time, it remains an alluring place. Some people do feel a real emotion facing a marine-based creation. People love the boat made out of canes of Provence, because they’ve never seen anything like it. It is the only one of its kind in the world. 

You built two boats made out of canes of Provence; the first trimaran is called »Gaubeja en Mar«, and the second one is a sailing dinghy named »Quieu Bagna«. Tell us more about these creations…

I built my very first boat in 2013. It’s a trimaran pretty close to a raft. I kind of used it as a test for my second boat. I’d just arrived in Hyères, in the south east of France, and discovered there was a small industry around the canes of Provence. The cane of Provence is a kind of bamboo, and belongs to the family of the giant graminaceous ones. We make reeds out of this cane for saxophones and clarinet. The reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound. The industry in Hyères is said to be the best in the world, and they throw a lot of canes away. As a designer, I have an emotional attachment to notions of sustainable development, recycling and eco-design. I also come from this region so I found it interesting to use these canes of Provence. With some research, and walking on the beaches during winter, I discovered many canes on the sand. Basically, the canes land on the beaches because they grow along the rivers. When there are major floods, water washes the canes out of the ground, back to the river, into the sea, finally washing up on the beaches. I noticed that the canes floated really well. They can be seen as maritime plants in a way. They are like tiny flotation tanks so a cane is a boat in itself. I thought that using 150 canes of Provence would make probably a great boat! With a drawing, and contemporary resins that we use in marine environments, I managed to put the 150 canes together to create a very light boat. »Quieu Bagna« has strengths and weaknesses. Anyway, it sails very well! 

You also created a sailing dinghy in 2008, didn’t you?

Yes, it is called Quieu Bagna. I have graduated from the ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne) and received my diploma in Industrial Design thanks to this boat. Quieu Bagna is a camping boat inspired by mediterranean boats, made with a latin sail. There is a big bed at the bottom of the boat, benches and a table to enjoy the sun, the sea and spend good moments on the water. A tarpaulin can completely close the boat and create a micro-architecture like a cocoon. This boat is a manifest of the Provençal art lifestyle.

Would you say you have an eco-design approach?

Eco-design means a lot! We have to be careful when we use this term. Some recycled creations can be more polluting than simply destroying materials. The best examples are the wooden chairs. It’s not because they are made of wood that they’re clean. Sometimes, a plastic chair is cleaner than a wooden chair that has travelled the world. It’s a complicated issue. The only thing I can say is that the canes I used for the boat, for example, had a short life cycle. The canes grew 6km away from my home and they sailed from their place of growth. It’s always better than fiber glass that has traveled three times around the world. In this way, I consider myself to be practicing a form of sustainable development. At least, this is what is important to me. These are the constraints that I set for myself. As designers, we have the duty to draw differently. This way, I consider myself being in a form of responsible design indeed.

Tell us more about your process of creation.

It depends on the situation and the product I want to create. There’s no magic method. Sometimes, I can find inspiration quite quickly. And conversely, most of the time, it’s more with pain and suffering. It ends up with sleepless nights and pages of drawings, as I work with hand drawings. I love that, it is the best way I have found to express myself. I currently work on designing a hotel room. In this case, for example, we have a pre-determined plan and we try to put ourselves in the place of our future clients, and the craftsmen who will build the room; a mason, a tile-setter, or an electrician. We have broad principles, then we enter slowly into the material, like a sculptor would do. 

You also teach design. Is it important for you to transmit?

It is very important to relay and work together. What I love is mixing generations. I recently saw my Master, a carpenter and cabinetmaker, who taught me from the ages 11 to 17 years old. He’s 70 today. I also have some friends who are 55. I work with young people from 18 to 22. I love that generations are able to meet and share their knowledge. We created »The Maritime Workshop« with my friend, artist and surfer Olivier Millagou. We both teach young people, and we talk a lot about water, especially about the Mediterranean Sea which is known to be the most polluted sea in the world. We tend to raise awareness on ocean pollution and, as designers, we try to find solutions. I remember a couple of years ago, one of our students designed a bin made out of recycled plastics found on the beach. Last year, we built kayaks able to collect garbage and plastic waste floating on the sea surface. The year before, we also created paddles. Our students are very open and I like that.

Discover more of Antoine Boudin’s work on his website

Photo Portrait : Joran Briand

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