Pulp Fiction — Paper Mâché Fantasy

The term “paper mâché” brings up fond memories of youthful summer camp projects — strips of newspaper dipped in paste, layered on top of a balloon, face, or cardboard model, then left to harden and be painted. Those resulting oblong balls, lumpy masks, and indeterminate piñatas should be familiar to us all.

The centuries-old medium isn’t well known for its finer art aspects, but there are some creators out there making pieces of respectable quality, often geared toward youngsters. And then there’s Jalisco, Mexico-based Fernando Pérez Carrizales, who uses paper mâché to create studio-quality renditions of fantasy and sci-fi creatures and elements.

His pieces range from small and detailed to immense and intimidating; a full-scale Pale Man from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth and a wall-sized face of a Rancor jump out in particular. There are a lot of familiar images and mashups; his inspiration, however, comes from history and heritage. “We all grew up with monsters around us in cartoons, movies, books,” Carrizales says. “The stories our grandmothers told us always include fantastic beings. And in the case of Mexico’s pre-Hispanic culture, it’s full of monsters and warrior eagles and jaguars. If we add Día De Los Muertos, it’s hard not to incorporate fantasy into sculptures.”

Carrizales followed his brother in making art, but stepped away from it for a period until a tragedy brought him back. “My daughter died when I was 21, so I took up sculpture as a form of therapy,” he says. “It was my refuge!” He and his brother are now giving art classes and workshops to local kids and parents alike.

Photography by Mike Senese, Fernando Pérez Carrizales

“I have used materials like modeling clay, wax, epoxy, resins, foam rubber — and I always end up going back to paper,” Carrizales says. “It can be carved like wood, shaped like clay; it can be applied in casting molds, allowing you to combine many techniques. Furthermore you can find it anywhere, often discarded, making it an underestimated raw material.”

This article is from Make: Vol. 73!