Les résignées

Attuned to the phenomena of living things, Louis Guillaume is an artist who follows the cycle of the seasons for the purposes of his practice. His focus lies on bio-materials and their malleable qualities, for example: Nassella tenuissima (angel’s hair), poplar seeds, hornet’s nests, pine resin and ivy. These materials are gathered in urban areas or in more untouched environments such as the alluvial forests along the banks of the Loire. Further, they are stored, experimented with and transformed in the studio. They become paintings, sculptures and installations, where the artistic process must be invented and adapted, often drawing inspiration from craft techniques and traditional methods. The exhibition “Les résignées” presents Louis Guillaume’s latest experiments and research using pine resin. Resin, a material traditionally harvested by tapping maritime pines in the Landes region, allows the artist to enrich his experiments with plant fibres by using a fluid, thermoreactive material. After heating the resin, the material is then poured onto the floor, allowing him to play with its different states. As it cools, it transitions from liquid to solid, much like glass. The colour nuances are achieved by adding vegetable charcoal to the mixture. The compositions feature minerals and plants that Louis selects in his studio: lichen, seeds, wood, etc. In the natural ecosystem, resin has a specific function; it oozes from the tree following an injury and, on contact with the air, hardens to protect it from parasites. In the artist’s compositions, the materials and time seem to encapsulate the elements, positioning them in an in-between state, a state between life and death. Louis Guillaume has been working with certain materials for many years and seeks to reveal their sculptural potential through traditional processes usually employed to shape wool, such as felting, weaving, or even stone carving, which he applies to blocks of resin. By collecting bio-material in large quantities, the intention is to bring the plant world to a human and all-encompassing scale. The forms presented are reminiscent of living organisms or architectural structures, ranging from the macro to the micro. For the artist, the exhibition “Les résignées” is also a reflection on the notion of acceptance: ‘adopting, in the face of certain painful or unpleasant events, an attitude of acceptance’. Louis evokes the status of these materials which are ‘left behind’, sometimes unloved, and in which he perceives strengths and artistic potential. His studio research and field observations provide him with a solid understanding of these materials and enable him to overturn preconceived notions about them. For example, the poplar pulp he uses to create white paper impregnated with seeds is often accused of being allergenic; ivy is considered a parasitic plant that strangles trees, whereas it has a symbiotic relationship with its host; Stipa, commonly defined as an invasive plant, is often planted on a massive scale for its ornamental value, however thrives only in bioclimatic conditions that suit it and spreads with the wind. Indeed, the artist questions our own use of these plants as well as our globalised and industrialised system. The ‘resigned ones’ is a tribute to materials, to the elements, to unloved or misunderstood parasites which nevertheless hold the keys to understanding our practices and ways of life. They are essential for the proper balance of our ecosystem, neglected in this Anthropocene era where humans create landscapes rather than allowing the balance of life to take its course. Louis Guillaume reflects on the circumstances surrounding the creation of the works and describes this exhibition as having been forged by fire, with the help of his assistants Camila Proto and Jeanne Larnaudie. At some point the studio was cut off from electricity, thus making the workspace and the process more intune with the organic materials, marking the beginning of the “Les résignées” project. For the artist, it is a unique time-space where oblivion is revealed through archaeological excavations and where materials lie in waiting, ready to sprout.