This project drew its inspiration from the cork masks created by the inhabitants of the village of Góis, which are used in the traditional Carnival Rush. Following the tradition in these villages, we too collected the cork to build and reinterpret these masks from nature. Cork is extracted every seven years and the inner rings determine the age of the cork oak. The cork-producing tree is one of Portugal’s national symbols.

The idea was to create a light object in the shape of a mask, in addition to two small masks, carrying the whole cultural and historical wealth of the Schist Villages. The two pieces were worked differently. For the small masks, we decided not to give in to the literal meaning of the mask, so they are a representation. As for the light artifact, it is made from a large piece of cork, directly taken from the cork oak and worked to give it both a polished part and a raw cork part. To this base we added a nose and two horns. Finally, all the pieces were taken to the Schist Villages FabLab to etch the laser inscriptions and make “stamps” with our brand logo: “más caras” (long faces).