Gradwatch 2016: Alec Mezzetti
Fresh graduate Alec Mezzetti uses graphic design to comment on the housing crisis. Here he discusses his investigative approach to design.
Alex Mezzetti is a London based artist, who has just graduated from the Leeds College of Art‘s Graphic Design programme. Much of his self-initiated work is politically charged, and addresses contemporary issues.
CR: Tell us a little bit about your approach to graphic design and your work
AM: I believe graphic design should be willing to engage with the world around it and constantly evolve and I’d much rather create something that [is unique even if it] doesn’t work than something that looks like everything else.
CR: We selected a piece from your project titled ‘Crisis’ to be a part of our Talentspotting initiative. What inspired this body of work?
AM: The housing crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our generation, and yet other than vague promises to build more houses, we hear very few solutions. This inspired me to investigate for myself.
I spent a couple of months on this project, with roughly half of that on research, and ended up with a 40 page magazine with wrap-around poster, a website and series of 50 unique promotional screenprinted posters. The content was from a range of writers and campaigners, but the design and illustration was solely me. I actually extended this project for use at Dismaland with the No Borders book shop, and have definitely considered working on a second issue, as the topic has by no means disappeared.
CR: What’s the most absurd thing you’ve had to do for a project?
AM: I actually had to do a photoshoot of a number of streets in London for this project, Including empty mansions of billionaires row, which attracted quite a bit of attention from the private security many of them hired.
CR: What are you working on at the moment. What’s keeping you busy now that you have graduated?
AM: I’m working on a few small freelance jobs while making the most of a short break by getting away from the screen.
BELOW: From a project on Statue vandalism, recontextualising graffiti on statues.
Your dream job – what would it be?
Something different with every project, working to educate and inform rather than purely to sell.
Mezzetti is one of the 15 graduates whose work has been selected by us to appear on JCDecaux digital screens all over the UK, including at major railway stations, shopping centres and roadways as a part of CR’s Talentspotting scheme.
