Gugus is a crocodile, protagonist of the Miracle universe. He is the god of all gods, but since he is a trickster, he will not take responsability for the world he created. The legend of Gugus started as a comic book, then became a stop motion animation movie, a performance, and two gigantic comic books (2013-2014).
In 2016 Gugus invented his own music instrument, the Gugusophone, and wrote a radio show produced by France Culture. The instrument was later on used in workshops and sold as a DIY kit.
In that radio piece, Benjamin Efrati and Noel Sarlaw explain how Gugus created a homemade electronic music instrument for dinosaurs, which caused their demise. The Gugusophone is an easy do-it-yourself project which you can actually buy online.
Gugus was developed by Benjamin Efrati in collaboration with other members of the Miracle collective including Balazs Turai, Alexandre Efrati, Ulysse&Marius Vuillemier, Balazs Keszegh, Petra Marjai, Diego Verastegui, Wassim Halal, Noel Sarlaw, Nathan Efrati and Louise Lefort.
Gugus Economics, Posca drawing on wall, 2015, Benjamin Efrati
Primarily appearing in Benjamin Efrati’s drawings, Gugus was born from his kid nephew’s newly invented idol, named”Gugus Claclé”; whatever that meant was related to the onomatopea “clac-lé” which could approximately be rendered as “chop-chop”. The crocodile is a childish vision of what a god is to adults: omnipotence beyond morality.
Gugus and Justine, chalk drawings, 2013, Benjamin Efrati
