Papier-Mâché performance. In anticipation of the Tasmeem 2015 art and design festival, we designed large papier-mâché mascot heads to represent each of the Co-Directors. The conference them was ‘3ajeeb!’ which is an Arabic slang word meant to be weird, playful and cool.

As part of the Tasmeem spectacle, we ventured out into the general public for photoshoots and to conjure publicity for the festival event. The original idea for the heads came to fruition as a way for festival attendees to take photographs without revealing their actual identity, which is something of a cultural concern, especially with a highly publicized international event with a large social media presence. 

The heads were designed in collaboration by Polie Campiteli and Michael Hersrud, the papier-mâché construction and painting was done by Polie Campiteli. The photographs were taken by Omer Mohammad. Special thanks to Simone, Levi and Richard, the co-chairs, for participating in several ‘public performances’ leading up to the Tasmeem conference.