LA PANTASEMA

DESCRIZIONE: The project starts from a specific request of the Standing Committee of the Carnival of Liri aiming to a revival on a national scale of their...

The project starts from a specific request of the Standing Committee of the Carnival of Liri aiming to a revival on a national scale of their activities. Papier-mache craftsmanship, merchandising and communication are the key elements of an annual event/exhibition conceived by ZO_loft. On one hand the aim is to involve the individual city neighborhoods or local communities who live abroad and, on the other hand, to involve graphic designers, illustrators, designers, artists and creative people too. The mask of the Pantasema is setted as the center of the whole strategy: not just the design of a simply identification tool, but the study, research and development of a product that embodies a territory and its traditions. As an emblematic and mysterious tradition-bound figure, the Pantasema is so elected as the Queen of Carnival. In the absence of an adequate documentation, ZO_loft was called to investigate and reconstruct the distinctive features of the mask by analyzing and comparing the sources and the rites of the pagan culture of central Italy, in particular the territory of Lazio and Abruzzo. While the entire search was useful for delineating colors, distinctive features and decorations of the mask, the other was then also used to develop the first and only page on Wikipedia dedicated to the Pantasema.