Behind the Scenes
From drawing to three metres: how Cat Zyon becomes a sculpture
A practical look at the artistic and technical decisions that turn Zyon's graphic identity into public sculpture.
Turning Zyon into a three-metre sculpture is not a matter of enlarging a drawing. A public work must preserve the character's identity while responding to scale, material, viewing angle, installation and the conditions of its site.
Preserving the character in volume
The process begins with the features that make Zyon recognisable: silhouette, eyes, ears, posture and colour relationships. In two dimensions, a line can imply volume. In sculpture, every side must be resolved because visitors can walk around the work.
Proportion changes with scale. Details that look strong on paper may disappear outdoors, while a small imbalance becomes obvious at three metres. The team therefore evaluates how the character reads from far away, at pedestrian level and in photographs, without allowing technical requirements to erase Ramiro Silos's original language.
Production is part of authorship
The installed works in Uberaba and Osasco were made in fibreglass. Material selection affects weight, finish, maintenance and how colour behaves under light. Production also requires a base, transport planning and coordination with the destination responsible for the site.
These steps involve specialised collaboration. The project credits the artistic creation and the production work rather than presenting a monumental piece as the result of a single gesture. Public art is built through decisions that connect studio practice, fabrication and city operations.
The site completes the work
A sculpture changes when placed beside a road, in a square or near a civic building. Sightlines, pedestrian circulation and surrounding architecture affect the encounter. A suitable site must therefore be assessed as a real public environment, not selected only for a striking photograph.
Cat Zyon's proposed future destinations remain proposals until local agreements and conditions are confirmed. This is why the exhibitions map separates installed, developing and planned locations. For a closer view of the character's visual variations, visit the collection.
