 "Transformationland". 2008. Graphite and acrylic on paper 11" X 14". |
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Transformationland Transformationland is a new series of works by Guillaume Wolf inspired by the American obsession with self-improvement. As a Frenchman who has been living in the United States for over 6 years, Guillaume offers original snapshots of contemporary popular culture and beliefs that shape the American experience. If these motifs are "inspirational" and don't actually reflect a clear image of reality, they are still packed with emotional impact and wild tales. We go from poor to rich, fat to skinny, lonely to loved, ugly to beautiful - all that and more - almost overnight. In that context, the change has to be dramatic, fast and documented by a "before and after" photograph. Guillaume has been interested by the influence of self-help in American culture, long before he lived in the United States. Far from looking down upon it with cynical eyes, he recognizes in it a deeper narrative structure that tells us about the human nature. "We all secretly dream of becoming a better version of ourself. There is always something we want more of", he explains. "At the archetypal level, we believe we are butterflies still trapped in our caterpillar stage. I'm fascinated by this phenomenon because it reflects a certain innocence and hope that I find moving. On the other hand, it is also a personal guilty pleasure that I love to indulge into. Every time someone offers to reveal a "secret" - even though it has nothing to do with my life - I have to read about it; it's a compulsive drive." The world of self-improvement is indeed curious and can sometimes look a lot like Alice in Wonderland, where everything is possible. In preparation for this project, Guillaume was shocked to find material that happily jumped over the realm of reality. There is the 1907 book entitled The Training of the Human Plant, a gem of self-help that contains pearl of wisdoms such as: "Neither plant nor child to be overfed"; or the contemporary flyer that offers to "break the cycle of birth and death". Indeed, this Transformationland has no rules, it is a dream frontier populated with characters bigger than life, dotted with infinite powers. For this series, Guillaume has chosen to work on hand drawn "advertisements" that seem to be unfinished, like many discarded projects. "I like the idea of found sketches, the stuff that you find at the bottom of the trash in an advertising agency", he says. "A lot of self-help has to do with marketing and perception. It has to be really glossy to become popular; the glossier, the better. The truth is that in the business of self-help, very few authors really ever become successful themselves. They are literally millions of competitors, and most of them will fail. That's a fascinating paradox. I like to think of Transformationland as a project that never made it beyond the drawing boards. A receipe for success that was unsuccessful... until now, when it's rediscovered and becomes a hit!" |