Zamo Peza is the winner of the Professional Design, Product & Packaging Category. Read on to find out more about Zamo’s award-winning project:
About the Project
I created the “New World” series of 5 posters with messages related to the post pandemic era, but facing it with a made in Cuba sympathy and optimism. My inspiration comes from Cubans keen sense of humour and ability to reinvent themselves.
Brief
The year before I made this series I won “the best poster of the year” in the Club de amigos del cartel annual awards. The prize consisted in a three colours silkscreen poster print possibility at Portocarrero Silkscreen Workshop, in Havana. Taken this opportunity I developed this personal project.
Materials
Printing ink on Bristol card.
Process
All the posters were conceived for silkscreen printing. This is a technique with a strong tradition in Cuba. The three colours limit comes from the Portocarrero workshop´s technical specification.
Challenges
The main challenge, as frequently happens, was to struggle against the distractions. I´m a grandmaster of the procrastination. But eventually I found the mood for working.
Insights
Doing this project I learn how to put some cold water on my apocalyptic world vision.
Distractions
Well, in Cuba the main distraction is the daily survival. Surviving is our national sport. At this moment in our country there is a big political and economic crisis. It is at its peak.
Numbers
10. The number of times my girlfriend told me I need to finish this project.
Reflections
I would probably make the lines less hieratic.
Advice
To remove non-essentials things not only from the work, but also from the mind. And a classic from Bruce Lee for moving forward in life: “be water my friend”.
Future
At this moment I´m working on a personal project that I´m enjoying a lot. I´m doing an illustration series as homage to Gregg Araki´s Teenage Apocalypse trilogy.
Dream Commission
I would love to design an album cover for Frank Ocean. I would also love to work with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Jim Jarmusch. I am deeply influenced by Apichatpong imagery and mood. I am also very grateful to the simplicity of the plots and characters from Jarmusch films.
Favourite Thing to Draw
People, faces, animals, sneakers and clothes.
Workspace
I work at home. I have two cats and noisy neighbors.
Thanks
I want to thank the jury of the WIA for giving me this opportunity. I would also like to thank the industrial designer Carilyn de la Vega and the printmakers from the Portocarrero Silkscreen Workshop. It is nice and unexpected to have won this award.