Tomo77 x Vault Editions: Artist Interview
Tomo77 is a Costa Rica-based artist whose bold, graphic work explores human behaviour, capitalism, and pop culture, shaped by his immigrant experience.
With over 30 years in design and art, his work has appeared in exhibitions at La Luz de Jesus, LA, Saatchi Gallery 1st London, Stolenspace, One Grand Gallery PDX, Mortal Machine NOLA, Mirus SF, Palazzo di Espozisioni di Roma, and the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Costa Rica. It has been featured in Hi-Fructose and Juxtapoz.
He's collaborated with Devo, Pearl Jam, Mastodon, Mike Doughty, Alien Ant Farm and Shepard Fairey, bringing a distinct visual voice to every project. His pandemic-era book 'Pandemonium' acts as a graphic journal of life in crisis, urgent, raw, and reflective. Tomo77's work confronts the present moment with clarity and force, giving form to the stories that need telling.
Join Vault Editions in conversation with Tomo77 as we learn more about his art, motivations, process and plans for the future - let's go!
'Transhumanism' by Tomo77
1. You've developed a process you call "hand digital etching", a technique that mimics the feel of wood carving but is created on an iPad, sometimes taking weeks or even months to complete before being printed onto aluminium. Can you walk us through how this method works and how it evolved into your signature approach?
I call it digital etching because, after many years, I realized I’ve always been drawn to the woodcut technique and its bold, textured aesthetic. The grain of the wood, the graphic quality of the lines—it always amazed me. I was looking for a way to replicate those characteristics digitally, but I didn’t want it to just look like a typical woodcut.
My approach became a crossover between using a brush and using a gouge. It took years to refine this technique digitally. I also worked with real carvings on MDF and linoleum, and over time, my digital work, carvings, and hand-painted pieces began to share a consistent visual language. That’s when I understood: your technique doesn’t define your voice—your style does. Style is what makes your work uniquely yours.
Interestingly, a lot of my early visual references came from Vault Editions. But after completing one of my pieces—mostly digital—I accidentally discovered direct printing on aluminium. It’s a process that prints straight onto an aluminium composite panel, and it gave the work a striking presence. I also began collaborating with a screen printer to explore other formats.
In the end, the printing method is secondary. What matters most to me is the style and the message I want to convey in each piece. People nowadays recognize my work because of the lines.
'Untitled Rider', by Tomo77
2) In a previous interview, you said something that really struck me: "What I do is hold up a mirror to what people do and are. I don't make things that are inside me, but things I see around me." Do you aim to evoke a specific emotional response or communicate a particular message through each piece, or is your goal more about prompting reflection and contemplation in the viewer?
I remember this interview. People often think I’m a very dark person. That’s why I said: I just look around and see people’s pain and suffering—war, famine. How can anyone pretend nothing is happening?
I want people to reflect, even if just for a few seconds. Social media already takes you from sadness to happiness in a single swipe. Humanity now has a “swipe-up” memory. Next. Not in my backyard.
I want to put these situations in front of people and trigger emotional responses—reflection, contemplation, or any feeling that comes from looking at my work. There are always hidden messages mixed in, and I love when people start to solve them like a puzzle.
I know my work won’t fix the world’s problems, but I can help create awareness.
3) Your 2022 book 'Pandemonium' has been called "a graphic testimony to a year of uncertainty, uproar, and division." It leans on the stark imagery of Renaissance woodcuts, plague doctors, religious iconography, and apocalyptic tableaux, yet speaks directly to today's anxieties. What did you hope to capture with this body of work, and how did you choose and balance those historic motifs against contemporary themes?
The book is a real-time experience of what I went through, I was making one or two illustrations a day. Trapped in a tiny apartment in Portland, OR, during the pandemic—surrounded by fires, no vaccines, Covid, hate, racism, the murder of George Floyd, and the protests that followed.
I started to connect medieval imagery with what was happening—especially the plague. Every day felt the same: the same news, the same TV shows. Somehow, the whole world was stuck at home together.
I’ve always been intrigued by medieval books—looking at the illustrations and wondering, what was going on here? what were they trying to say? I wanted to recreate that feeling of wonder you get as a kid, flipping through pages and letting your imagination take over.
It really felt like an apocalyptic moment. I wanted to show how history repeats itself, how we were going through another wake-up call as humanity. I believe in God, and beyond religion, I think a lot of people took time to reflect on their lives during the pandemic.
In the end, I think we were all feeling the same things.
4) You collaborated with Shepard Fairey, who also wrote the introduction to 'Pandemonium'. What do you think draws you together as artists?
I met Shepard during the pandemic through an old friend of his. He became familiar with my work, and we started collaborating almost immediately. I have to say, I was blown away—Shepard has always been one of my artistic heroes. Having him write my intro and collaborate with me has been surreal. I’m humbled that he supports and champions my work.
We’ve sat down and talked about the same issues—social injustice, immigration—and of course, our work overlaps in protest art. We both gravitate toward bold graphics, red and black, and causes that matter.
Art should be about that—about saying something—not just matching the colors of your living room.
'Pandemonium' by Tomo77
5) Your work often employs a minimal colour palette, frequently featuring black, white, and red, or sometimes with the addition of another colour, such as blue or yellow. What attracts you to this restrained approach, and what role does colour play in the overall impact of your work?
I like bold, graphic work. I consider myself a self-taught graphic artist—I don’t have an academic background. To me, great graphic art is timeless when it’s bold and often black and white.
There’s plenty of color and variety in art today, but look at Barbara Kruger’s work—it’s timeless. That’s the kind of impact I aim for. I want to grab your attention with strong contrasts and limited color.
I also like to keep things minimal. I think that comes from my love for vintage propaganda art—it’s direct, powerful, and unforgettable.
'The Yellow Rider', by Tomo77
6) You recently created two skate decks, 'Lunar Lords' and 'Libertad', for a group show at Wonderland SF. What inspired these works, and what political, cultural, or personal messages were you hoping to explore through them?
Oh you saw that! Well I always pick a theme to create a piece, I never create anything before a small write up idea, I write before I make art, I have a news piece or someone’s story, in this case, “Lunar Lords” is about billionaires trying to get to space and own the moon, profit from it, advertise, its like whatever they have and own is not enough.
“Libertad” connects to immigration and the struggle people suffer with oppression. Right now its not a good moment to be an immigrant in the USA, actually always, but now its worse. Not all people are criminals and come to a country to do bad things.
'Libertad', by Tomo77
7) Your practice spans over 30 years and includes graphic design, illustration, painting, collage, and murals. Is there a creative discipline you'd like to explore next, or return to?
You know, I’ve never been able to live off my art—it’s always been a side hustle. But my heart is in it, and I’d love to do it full-time. I’ve always been drawing and making things, and I wish I could spend all day creating art.
I don’t think most artists live off selling paintings anymore. You need multiple streams of income or different lines of work. Personally, I’d love to have the time to make giant woodcuts.
I’m happy with what I’m doing, but I’m always looking for more commissioned work—especially related to music. I love working with bands and how music connects with design. If I had to name it, I’d say gig posters—that’s what I really love. Also I have ever had representation I would love to find an agent that can pitch my work to bands.
'Babel 1' Mastodon poster by Tomo77
8) You've collaborated with an impressive range of bands, from Soul Coughing and Hijos y Sinistra to Pearl Jam, DEVO, Alien Ant Farm, and Mastodon, creating everything from posters to album art, and even a woollen blanket for DEVO (which is fantastic, by the way). Is there an artist or band you haven't worked with yet that you'd love to create artwork for?
Great question, and yes of course! It's ok to dream :) let’s make the Xmas wishlist :)Tool, Metallica, Fever Ray, Primus, Massive Attack…pure love. I am open to music because its the art of the quickening, a universal form of art we can all connect to.
'AAF' by Tomo77
9) You created the 'Ministry of Peace' for the St James Park Press edition of '1984', a truly stunning project. How did that collaboration come about, and what was your approach to designing the piece?
Believe it or not I was approached in instagram by James, everyone reaches out to me by IG, I always think its a joke when this things happen. James sent me an image which was the man holding the hammer, I wanted to keep the same image impact so I tweaked it a little and he made an impressive book. I have some extra letter press prints which are impressive. I guess I stylized the image with with my look and feel.
'The Ministry of Peace' by Tomo77
10) Is there a book (art-related or otherwise!) that's had a lasting impact on you or your creative process?
I have been trying to read 'The Creative Act: A Way of Being' by Rubin, but I have a lot of your books to read. I honestly feed myself with images more than books, but right now AI has been on my radar. I am trying to use the tool, not to make art but to explore concepts and ideas. Also bringing my work into animation.
'Machines Will Not Replace Us', Pearl Jam poster by Tomo77
Thank you for your time today Tomo77; we're excited to see what you create next!
Interested in learning more about Tomo77's art? Check out Tomo77's website, and follow him on Instagram.
