Coline Sunier & Charles Mazé
Coline Sunier (France, 1984) & Charles Mazé (France, 1982) are graphic designers and typographers. They were residents at the Académie de France in Rome-Villa Medici in 2014-2015 and are graphic designers in residence at the Centre d’art contemporain de Brétigny and the Centre rhénan d’art contemporain in Altkirch. Coline Sunier teaches at the Institut Supérieur des Arts in Toulouse and Charles Mazé at the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique in Nancy.
Their project at Villa Médicis:
During their residency at Villa Medici, Coline Sunier and Charles Mazé will develop part of a long-term research project dedicated to collecting, transcribing and publishing popular writings. The residency will first involve experimenting with techniques for recording inscriptions in Roman public spaces. They will also begin the editorial and graphic design of a publication on the inventory of graffiti in the Galerie des Carrache, as part of the ‘Carracci ConservArt’ project. Finally, they will continue writing a visual essay on the use of the W sign in Italy, a letter that is absent from the Italian alphabet but nevertheless very present on walls. The W or VV sign, pronounced ‘Viva’, is often followed by a name, a football team or a political party, and in itself condenses the many expressions of opinion and affection of the Italian population.
Portrait : © Tânia Raposo, 2023
© Coline Sunier & Charles Mazé