What happens when you apply design principles to the aesthetics of puppets? We find out with the creations of Helsinki-based Italian artist Lucas Zanotto, who applies different form combinations to the fun and playful style of puppets. With a background that draws from graphic design, architecture and product design, put at the service of his imagination, Zanotto creates innovative and impactful works, which have also led him to produce 2D animations, installations and digital images. For the latter, the artist made use of artificial intelligence, experimenting with creating cartoonishly animated, huge-eyed and brightly colored design sculptures.

For this project, Lucas Zanotto is inspired by existing objects, aiming for a fusion with the cartoon world, typical of the artist’s imagination. Cappadocia’s hot air balloons come to life, come together and form a giant flying puppet in soft, pastel colors, such as mustard, blue and cream. Another example are glass vases, oriental-like in shape, which with Zanotto become cute one-eyed characters with funny grimaces. In other cases the puppets appear as inflatables, just like beach or pool mats. In one work we see how Lucas is inspired by the poufs (or beanbag chair) that make the sculptures soft and fluffy, a feeling that is conveyed to the viewer through the strongly accentuated realistic component. It is surprising to see how some of the works appear as extremely real and how it is almost difficult to understand their fiction. It is easy to distinguish the materials from which they are made, such as plastic, glass or wood, while at the same time leading us to long for a parallel universe in which classic inanimate objects can observe us and entertain us.