Idea Concept
A Panini album that no one wanted to open -
but everyone needed to see.
What was supposed to be the biggest football celebration in the world became one of the most controversial World Cups in history.
Thousands of migrant workers lost their lives. Corruption, exploitation and silence surrounded a tournament watched by millions.
Thousands of migrant workers lost their lives. Corruption, exploitation and silence surrounded a tournament watched by millions.
UNBOXING QATAR 2022 was my response to that silence.
A conceptual idea that deliberately hijacked one of football’s most beloved rituals: the Panini sticker album - and turned it into a brutal, emotional confrontation with the reality behind the tournament.
The idea was never meant to be comfortable.
It was meant to be impossible to ignore.
The Panini sticker album stands for nostalgia, childhood memories, collecting, swapping, excitement. I kept exactly that outer shell.
But once you open it, the illusion breaks.
Instead of team stats, players and shiny moments, the album confronts you with facts, numbers and stories about the thousands of migrant workers who died building the infrastructure for the World Cup.
Where player stickers usually go, there are portraits and names of deceased workers.
Each sticker representing a human life, not a statistic.
Same format.
Same ritual.
A completely different truth.
But once you open it, the illusion breaks.
Instead of team stats, players and shiny moments, the album confronts you with facts, numbers and stories about the thousands of migrant workers who died building the infrastructure for the World Cup.
Where player stickers usually go, there are portraits and names of deceased workers.
Each sticker representing a human life, not a statistic.
Same format.
Same ritual.
A completely different truth.