South of Tel Aviv.
Schocken Street is wearily laden with cars filling the roads and trying to get out of the long traffic jam that is forming for it.
From among the office buildings, men and women emerge for a lunch break at the local restaurant just before returning to work, and the familiar noise and bustle blends in with the scorching sun that shows no signs of fatigue, even though November is soon over.
This everyday noise disappears as you enter one of the buildings on the street, go up to the tenth floor and discover a magical place full of light.
This is what happens when you enter the Nura Gallery, a special lighting gallery with hundreds of designed lighting fixtures, established two years ago by Ido Shalem Malachi and Guy Khaled.
In a world where climate crisis, global warming, air and water pollution and other environmental health hazards have made the environment a major issue in new releases, the two decided to combine the environment and sustainability with their art and do what they really love, or as they explain with a smile - "We Illuminate differently. "
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They create their light fixtures from natural raw materials or accessories collected on the streets, in warehouses, at flea markets around the world or from private individuals, just before sending their belongings to the garbage.
They create their art items carefully, each art item is unique and is produced only once.
Bezeq phone with light bulbs, NIS 950, Photo: Coco
The two have a dialogue between the old and the new, but the real dialogue takes place in their studio.
The chemistry is immediately apparent between the two friends who have known each other for ten years, but only 3 years ago decided to join forces and two years ago set up what became their second home.
A combination of worlds
Guy (35), who grew up in Moshav Kfar Vitkin, has lived in Tel Aviv for 20 years.
Anyone who until the age of 19 played football for the Maccabi Herzliya team and then moved on to nightlife and ran bars, restaurants and cafes, found himself 3 years ago re-computerizing a track following an injury.
He came to Ido's studio (35), Tel Aviv for 15 years, who came from Kiryat Shmona to the big city and started rolling there as an art man in complex TV productions like "Survival", worked with designers who created backdrops for movies and from them learned to work with his hands, and opened a studio focusing on dog furniture And backdrops for movies.
The meeting of the two lit a spark that took them forward into the world of lighting, when it was clear to both of them that they were going to do it differently.
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"I come from the house of an agranian mother who brings everything she sees straight home," says Guy, "so there is the desire here to bring everything home and especially not to throw anything away. We take objects that have finished their way and give them reuse. You can add a light bulb to everything "Turn it into a lampshade or create a light fixture from any object that was not meant to be."
Old TV, NIS 850, Photo: Coco
Why lighting fixtures?
Guy:
"When I was injured and came to Ido's studio I wanted to pass the time and work with my hands. I told him I wanted to start assembling lighting fixtures, he saw what I did and liked it. He has a background in it because he worked at Gil Teichman - Lighting and understands electricity, And we decided to join forces and set out on a common path. The truth is that during my bar time people kept laughing that I was playing with the lighting. (Laughs) ".
Ido:
"It started with Guy putting things together and telling me 'just connect the cables', and I saw what he was doing and where it could go, and I told him it was proper art. I come with a background in electricity and will soon graduate from ORT Singlovsky and become an electrician "Qualified. For the things we do, you don't really have to be an electrician, but after I have a certificate, I can do more things."
Old radio, NIS 1,200, Photo: Coco
Along with art and electricity, you make sure to reuse and use natural materials. In the days when the issue of the environment is so dominant, how much does it occupy you?
Ido:
"It is very important to us and occupies us. We want to combine the worlds. What NURA actually brings is a combination of an old world - the things that have finished their function, with many new elements, and that is our strength and uniqueness."
Give me an example of something that ended its function.
Guy:
"An air conditioner compressor, an old parasol, an old fuel tank that is already rusty on the inside, a broken old radio, a dial telephone that is no longer used ... It often happens that we start a process by working on a certain product and suddenly discover something else in it. Phone and we connected to a nice base to create a wall lamp, then we saw the internal system of the phone, a super cool element, and from it we made another piece in general.One of the most important things for us is that each item is created once, there is no repeating stanza. "Every item is what the universe sent us, and whoever buys from us knows that what he has - no one else has."
Old plumbing pipes, NIS 800, Photo: Coco
Where do you get the materials from?
Guy: "Buying, finding in junkyards, rummaging through bins, there's a lot of work around it, but we're used to our friends sending us pictures before they throw something away, because chances are we'll want it."
David D'Or gets the light
Among the lighting fixtures in the gallery's exhibition space, next to which there is a carpentry shop where they also create their own art out of nothing, you can also find works of art by various artists alongside artistic collaborations.
Ido:
"We are very much in favor of collaborating with artists who speak our language and are engaged in recycling and creation. This is how we teamed up with Deborah Sivan, a network artist who sculpts with iron wires, and we present her things, some of which we combined with our lighting."
Painting by David D'Or with an element of lighting, NIS 2,500, Photo: Coco
Another intriguing collaboration is the paintings of David D'Or, who in addition to his singing career has in recent years also developed the field of painting, and exhibits in Israel and around the world in various exhibitions.
This time, his paintings take on an extra dimension of lighting.
Guy: "David D'Or was with us in the gallery, he really liked what he saw and bought some products, and when we were in his studio and saw his paintings, we came up with the idea of combining his paintings with our works. Each item is made differently. "
Not only was David D'Or enthusiastic about them - recently they have also received inquiries from other bodies and places.
Only now have they finished designing a new bar in Dizengoff: "We literally networked the place", Guy explains, "This is a wine bar called Decanter, for which we designed over 30 bodies - lampshades, a special watch doll, large matches we made, elements related to wine bottles and barrels and more, from materials Only natural and recycled. "
Irons, NIS 350-500, Photo: Coco
Ido:
"Many times we buy natural wood, take thinly disassembled, try not to buy new things but to use what is available, and one of the things that comes up is the sentimental value that many people have who keep things in the pantry and no one knows about it. We had several such customers. One story. What really touched me was when someone came to us with a violin that her father played a lot, and in recent years was stored and no one saw him. Her father, who was already an adult, only told about him and did not allow her to touch him. "We did something beautiful with it so that it would return to their living room. We cleaned and renewed it, made a beautiful stand out of a shell backpack, connected it to electricity and created a beautiful light fixture."
Guy:
"Even in the visibility of old objects there is something different, there is more soul in them than in the new things and we are more connected to them."
Ceramic books created by Guy's mother that were incorporated into a light fixture, NIS 850, Photo: Coco
The prices of your works start at a few hundred shekels. Some will say that it is quite a bit.
Guy:
"These are works in which a lot of thought is invested. In each work it is important for us to have a dimmer that will allow you to play with the intensity of the light and a charcoal bulb that spreads a more pleasant light than a regular lamp.
Ido:
"There is also the element of uniqueness here. When you buy an item from us, you know that only you have it, so in relation to that I think the prices are attractive."
An old theater projector, NIS 2,220, Photo: Coco
Have you thought about passing on your knowledge and teaching people how to create art?
Guy: "Yes, we run a 3 and a half hour workshop for adults and children. They choose a stencil for themselves from a collection we have created, and we teach them painting techniques, with elements that can be added. No need for prior knowledge and everyone comes home with a lighting fixture they designed for themselves." .
For inquiries to the reporter: Maya19.10@gmail.com
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