Fig. 1 Carlos Villarreal Kwasek, South-American Future Fantasy (2015), Digital.
I was given the opportunity to be involved in the Tsamaru project as a Concept Artist. This project, which is on going at the moment, is a multimedia experience for the Ministry of Education in Ecuador developed by the local studio Amerisis (Amerisis, 2015). The goal of the project is to use it as a tool for educational purposes by involving the audience with superhero figures based on local myths and folk stories.
I work closely with the writers and the visual department team. We research into our own cultural heritage as well as contemporary sources. There is a rich and broad history to tap into and I am extremely excited that this vision is being created by local artists and practitioners. This is a local view. I love that the local flavour is surfacing in this project: for example, many of the characters resemble more of a Nacho Libre than a Daredevil. I feel that there is richness and intrigue in this universe and I feel inspired by this project.
I decided to use some of the Tsamaru research to design a few characters on my own. This experiment resulted in some interesting explorations (Fig. 1) that perhaps could help me shape some of my own ideas.
I think that our own work can be a source of inspiration just as well as other artists’ work. By doing a project that is different yet within my spectrum I felt revitalised and refreshed to start something new. Furthermore I feel lucky to have been given this opportunity and I’m sure this project will overlap some of the themes I want to tackle in my personal work.
Bibliography
Amerisis (2015) Amerisis. [online] Available at: Facebook [Accessed on 28 February 2015]
List of Images
Fig. 1 Carlos Villarreal Kwasek, South-American Future Fantasy (2015), Digital.