ana jimenez turns masks of mexico into furniture pieces

ana jimenez turns masks of mexico into furniture pieces
all images courtesy of ana jimenez

the vibrant nature of mexican characters influenced ana jimenez to construct ‘los enmascarados,’ five pieces of furniture reflecting the nation’s traditional masks. the costume accessories are familiarly used in the country to embrace the beliefs and behaviors embedded in traditional culture. thus, the elements of the decorations, their fundamental concepts, and what they stand for, were extracted and analyzed in order to transform them into furnishings. during this process, the pieces became humorous, exaggerated versions of themselves. ‘the intention was to get a deeper understanding of what it means to be mexican through the exploration of a craft that defines this. all of this in order to inspire the creation of a contemporary object, without using the mask craft or its technique in a literal way, but as the concept of what it means to a culture,’ says jimenez.

‘the double face’

‘the doubleface’ is the fight between good and evil. his good persona presents a normal condition with unpainted drawers on the left stabilized by two legs planted firmly on the ground. meanwhile, his green demon sticks out to the right in an irregular manner, with his feet up in the air and his upside-down mechanism. 

‘the drunk lady’

‘the drunk lady’ represents an inebriated personality. she can’t stand straight because she’s too drunk, so instead she rocks from side to side in a clumsy attempt to maintain her balance. her tall height and shade of red makes you feel threatened by her intoxicated over-confidence.

‘the devil’

‘the devil’ is a prankster. with his hands in the air he is ready to jump on any innocent soul he finds. he goes around playing tricks on people and then blames the mask, ironically stating that ‘the devil made him do it.’ 

‘the buffoon’

the life of the party is ‘the buffoon.’ always dancing, he makes sure everyone is having a fun time. he plays with the kids and constantly teases the ladies. he is also in charge of keeping the people away from the dancers and is the one to call if there’s anything they could need. 

‘the old man’

‘the old man’ may have his best years behind him, but don’t let his advanced age fool you. in fact, he is an energetic spirit. his shoulders slope downwards with an elderly posture, his back is a little bit hunched, but his movements are as agile as those of a young man.

early sketches and models of shape exploration

the expressions on each of the masks were taken, analyzed and translated into the façade of the furniture

moodboard with colors and textures 

the furnishings were cut in a CNC machine in order to avoid undesired joint lines

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.