Creative duo Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann, aka Zim & Zou, are known for their amazing sculptures and installations, most commonly made out of paper. Having studied graphic design, the duo decided to join forces, creating handcrafted objects made out of tangible materials such as paper, wood, and thread.
Anchored in craftsmanship, they create everything by hand, from drawing to cutting and assembling. “Our approach is mainly focused on the use of handmade crafts to create visuals, window displays, installations, and so on,” they told Adobe’s online magazine. “We have a predilection for paper because it’s a versatile material, easy to sculpt, and very rich in terms of color or texture. Most of the time our designs are very intricate and time-consuming and use bold colors. We like projects that tell a story, not just decorative stuff.”
According to them, paper provides an endless source of inspiration for its versatility, an infinite range of colors, and unique textures. The flat paper sheets turned into volume are giving an installation the poetry of ephemeral material.
“At the very beginning, we started working with paper just for fun between graphic design commissions, and of course because Lucie’s family was working in a paper factory in the Vosges Mountains,” they say. “We had access to a lot of paper sheets, so we just played with paper. That’s how our first paper project came out. Then we dropped it on the Internet, we had some positive feedback, and we were quickly contacted by a client for our first commission.”
Based in France, their collaborations include clients like Hermès, IBM, Microsoft, and TIME, which means they’re kind of a big deal. Take a look at some of Zim & Zou’s work below:
