victory fingers
Playboy Art Toy Series
Concept
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This project came directly from ZCWO, the manufacturer I had previously worked with for the Popeye 90th Anniversary collection. Playboy had selected ten artists from around the world to reinterpret its image through an Art Toy.
Approach
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When they invited me to join, I didn’t want to just design a Zombie Rabbit as expected. Playboy is a well-known brand whose iconic and powerful logo has become part of pop culture itself, so I decided to use it to go beyond.
Over the years, the brand has been criticized for the objectification and hypersexualization of women, and it was like that. But times change. I wanted to recontextualize it within the current era.
I’ve never been sexually attracted to the women in the magazine, but I’ve always found funny the cliché of the centerfold pages hanging in some auto mechanic’s office as a symbol of toxic masculinity, loneliness, and desire. It’s ironic, because it’s almost the same mechanism that happens in religion when the Virgin’s image hangs on a wall. In a way, those workers venerate women as an idea of salvation.
Also, as a homosexual person, I imagined those same pictures might have been “used” by women attracted to women. I took advantage of the visual similarity between two fingers making the victory sign and forming a rabbit-head silhouette, turning them into a representation of female masturbation, and ultimately reinterpreting them as two zombie fingers symbolizing the rebirth of the Playboy logo: a new emblem for empowered women and queer victory over heteropatriarchy.
Production
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In this case, one single illustration was enough for Playboy to approve the design, and ZCWO handled the 3D modeling, with no need for four-view drawings.​
Legacy
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I especially like this design because, while it keeps my zombie style, it steps outside the character-based mold and allows for a more sculptural approach.
For me, this piece isn’t about provocation. It’s about recontextualizing icons and exploring how meanings evolve with time and perspective.
