KID MAZINGER
Genesis
​
This project was commissioned by Dídac Lee, an entrepreneur who served as a board member of FC Barcelona from 2010 to 2020.
He is a long-time fan of Mazinger Z and owns a large collection of figures of the character, in many formats and editions, but none created from scratch by an artist. He wanted something fully original, with my style and my way of building an Art Toy.
​
In our first conversations we talked about what Mazinger Z meant to him. Like many people of his generation, it was part of those childhood afternoons in front of the TV, and it ended up becoming a character closely tied to his personal growth. I approached that as the foundation of the project.
Concept
When someone asks for something “very Art Toy,” they usually mean a character with proportions closer to what has become iconic in the scene: big head, small body, and a more playful visual language.
Starting there, I decided to create a Kid Mazinger as a child version of the mecha, keeping the recognizable structure of the character but bringing it into something more relatable and everyday.
I gave him a tank top, shorts, and the attitude of a kid playing outside. The idea was to combine the icon with the moment in life when the character meant the most to its collector.
Process
​
Technically, this project was especially enjoyable.
Since Mazinger Z is a robot, I could work with clean surfaces, straight volumes and more industrial shapes than usual. It pushed me a bit out of my more organic and curved approach, and made me look for a balance between the rigidity of the character and the childlike energy I wanted to give him.
Outcome
​
The piece is part of Dídac Lee’s private collection.
For me it was interesting to work on such an iconic character from a more personal and accessible angle, keeping its identity while bringing it into my own visual language in a fresh and emotional way.
