Poster for 1998 Fete du Livre, Aix-en-Provence “Lire la Caraibe”

Poster for 1998 Fete du Livre, Aix-en-Provence  “Lire la Caraibe”
I design this poster for a book festival which happened every year in the City of Aix-en-Provence. In 1998, the subject was “Caribean literature”. To create this poster, I wanted to escape from “cliche” we have when we think about Cuba and Haiti which are famous destinations for tourism. To start my work, I collected an important number of images, as well as I read books, and listened cuban music. I understood the weight of the terribly hot and humid climate which makes colors and light becoming very bright, and creates an interesting contrast between day life and night life. I learned a lot about the social tensions describe by the authors, and of course the politic engagement and the role of the writers in societies where unfortunately a lot of people don’t know to read. This is a reason why writers appear subversive for their government. It is not easy to be a writer in such countries. In fact most of them are living in exile. The poster reflect the complexity of the Caribbean Islands. I wanted to express the sadness and the vivacity of this part of the world with a poetic attitude. For me, the poster needed to be structured around a kind of dance motion with a strong contrast between light and shadow. The typography is in movement and evokes the human presence. I mixed letters, big and strong like an out-cry, with an image of a palm tree and the pages of an open book. Anything in this poster is stable. The total effect evokes a powerful impression of movement and emotion. The impact is not only created a by technology, or traditional of knowledge, but is the result of experimentation with mixing images and type lay-out. I try to use the poster design composition freely, opening up new possibilities to express the Caribbean spirit.