Milan is getting ready to host the EXPO Milano 2015. And so is la Rinascente with the Expo opening windows that will capture, educate and strike the imagination.

EXPO Milano 2015 is fast approaching. Shortly, an enormous theme park spread over many locations and with diverse staging will spring to life in the city on the theme: “Feeding the planet, Energy for life”, from dietary habits around the world to food shortage, from the responsible use of resources to how to build a sustainable future and much more…

So as to mark the opening of the exposition in style, the windows facing Piazza Duomo will host a powerful installation called Edible Monsters that aims to raise public awareness in a surprising and creative way about the excesses of the food industry.
From 1 to 10 May 2015, carnivorous sunflowers, mutant fish, genetic manipulations and genetically modified corncobs will come to life to emphasise how the use of chemicals and aggressive farming methods can be harmful to our health.
The style is that of a caricatural metaphor, using irony and humour, to talk about one of the main themes of EXPO Milano 2015 in an original and engaging way.

The authors are Zim&Zou, the creative French duo composed of Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann, who will illustrate in each window a precise modus operandi of the modern food industry creating a colourful paper universe, entirely made by hand.

The monsters are coming!

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Insecticide
In a field of sunflowers, a mutant plant is devouring a bee, an insect that is crucial for its pollination and reproduction. All of this represents a monstrous act of self-defence as pesticides make plants immune to the attacks of insects but also expose them to their extinction by impeding nature to recreate its cycle.

Medicines yes, but without overdoing it!
A fish that looks decisively odd, with around ten eyes and too many fins, is feeding on extra-large pills that slowly sink to the bottom of a pond. A visual metaphor to say that the excessive use of drugs, instead of being beneficial to the health, may develop resistance to antibiotics and cause malformations.

Battery farming
A bunch of cages make up a battery farm. The residents of this disturbing resort are chickens with human-like features. They do not live an exhilarating life: they cannot tell the difference between night and day and cannot completely open their wings. You will not fail to ask yourself some questions when looking at these small creatures with such a human-like appearance.

But what do we eat?
A 3D printer prints a cupcake using ink that is labelled edible. The cake slowly takes shapes and gives life to a strange character; thus raising the issue of its edibility. This window is clearly an invitation to reflect upon the chemical ingredients used by the industry.

Genetic Manipulation
A lab made up of phials and test tubes that looks pretty sinister generates a rabbit with multiple ears: the victim of overzealous science. It is a clone and as such demonstrates the lack of knowledge and control we have over genetic manipulation and this is somewhat unnerving.

GMOs
A cornfield hosts an unnaturally oversized corncob; a monster that is trying to devour all the surrounding plants. This disproportionate growth symbolises the use of genetically modified organisms and puts the emphasis on serious health problems for the people who consume them.

Window photographer - Alberto Ferrero

Creation of an handmade installation made out of colored paper for the Children's Workshop (5-11 yo) at the Pompidou Center of Metz. The idea behind the piece was to highlight the contradiction between a unique hand crafted machine and the automation of industrial production of objects. To use the machine, some paper scraps have to be inserted in the main module, once the scraps are refined into geometric shapes, the control panel finally reveals the papercraft. In this workshop, children will play with handmade rubber stamps and build their own papercrafts of a simplified machine, paper food, etc...

http://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/usine-cr-ative

Illustration for Factum's BBQ 2014, using felt + paper.

Cover for Fricote magazine #14 about comfort food, and its supplement "Japan Eat Good" exploring the use of Japanese products in European cooking.

Project for a solo exhibition at the Toutouchic gallery in Metz (FR).
Video of the event by Fensch Toast.

Poster serie for IBM.

Agency - Ogilvy
Photographer - Fabrice Fouillet
Production - Pocko Lab

2013

For its 13th Carte Blanche, the Hermès store at Hong Kong International Airport is exhibiting a piece by the French artists Zim&Zou, 'The Eternal Jungle', which is an invitation into the wild.
The window installation creates an intriguing contrast between the jungle, a world that is dominated by wild animals, and one of great refinement, the world of Hermès. The window is influenced by the abundance of vegetation in Hong Kong.
The installation displays the finest skills in paper-cut art and leatherwork. Remaining faithful to its original purity, the artists create intricate objects with the paper, a material both beautiful and versatile. The 'Monkey', 'Toucan', and 'Chameleon' are all handcrafted and brought to life with leather offcuts carefully selected from the Hermès workshops.

This year marks the 30th birthday of the gastronomic restaurant Au Bon Gîte. The Chief has prepared special bimonthly menus to showcase unique offerings to celebrate throughout the year. Composed in harmony, as the expert layering of flavors, the elements of each mask will reveal the personality of the Chief's menu.

Chef's Mask II represents the various ingredients used to cook the third menu : carots, swiss chards, green beans, squab chops, trout filets, gnocchis, bergamots, ice cream...

Each poster will be integrated into postcards, menus, loyalty cards and flyers.

Our design concept is based on the phrase "Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are" and the work of Arcimboldo.
This is a work in progress.

This year marks the 30th birthday of the gastronomic restaurant Au Bon Gîte. The Chief has prepared special bimonthly menus to showcase unique offerings to celebrate throughout the year. Composed in harmony, as the expert layering of flavors, the elements of each mask will reveal the personality of the Chief's menu.

Chef's Mask II represents the various ingredients used to cook the second menu : turnips, poultry, morels, crayfish, lemons, oranges, chocolate .

Each poster will be integrated into postcards, menus, loyalty cards and flyers.

Our design concept is based on the phrase "Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are" and the work of Arcimboldo.
This is a work in progress.

Cover illustration for Icon magazine 104, about the Future of Food.
Inspired by 3D food printer technology.

Client : Windoo
Subject : Couch Surfing

Handmade font with thread.

Poster for Réglisse & Coconut, they're organizing a boardercross contest at "La Bresse". Installation made with spirogrpah shapes and origami on a blue background.

Two paper illustrations for ENI.

Here is a poster for a special menu for "Au Bon Gîte", they are serving seafood.

Sample of different small works.

Here are some vector art with monsters and strange characters.