In Reflets Magazine #151, Emmanuel Guillaud (E93) tells us how he became an artist acclaimed by the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions, and presents his project I’ll lick the fog off your skin, a blend of photography, video, dance and performance, which is open to patronage by individuals and corporations until end January. Here is a free online translation of the article... Subscribe to get the next issues (in French)! 

Emmanuel Guillaud developed his art in secret for many years. "Officially, I worked in marketing, initially with a mass retail group, where I created a brand and founded an in-house start-up, followed by a strategic consultancy which assigned me to luxury brands."

On turning 30, he decided to start over, and began by moving to Tokyo to learn Japanese. "I wanted to distance myself firstly, so I deliberately created a tangible gap by travelling [to Japan] by train and boat, via Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, Shanghai and Osaka, etc.", but his main goal was to immerse himself in Japanese culture and aestheticism. "Japan has a very different way of seeing the world which allows you to shift your focus. I realise this in Japanese gardens particularly, with their surprises and unexpected encounters at every step, compared to geometrical French gardens designed to demonstrate a form of power."

From Shadow to Light

It was in Japan that Emmanuel Guillaud dared to unveil his work for the first time. "Perhaps the distance helped to shake off my inhibitions...’" He entered a major competition to reveal up-and-coming talents, organised by the Japanese government and the Tokyo Contemporary Art Museum. "And to my great surprise I became the first-ever Westerner to receive a prize!’" 

Emmanuel stays true to a single form of expression: projection. "For my first exhibition, I projected images which danced around in the dark, and visitors could wander between or through these images and touch them. Some people describe these set-ups as installations, but I see myself more as a creator of spaces. Le Corbusier, for instance, defined architecture as a play of shadows and light.’" 

The Quest for Inspiration

Emmanuel Guillaud’s chosen medium set him in a category of his own which attracted attention. He was invited to exhibit at the Tokyo Contemporary Art Museum, the Singapore Art Museum, PHotoEspaña in Madrid and the Lambert Collection in Avignon, among others. 

"I work in cycles. Each work forms a 2- to 10-year adventure, which unfolds in in situ exhibition series.’ His work always draws on substantial historical and philosophical research, whether exploring urban solitude in Until the sun rises, exile in Bruler les abîmes or the alienation of metro passengers in Sans titre (après le Piranèse). It’s no wonder he eventually entered the Paris Cergy National Graduate School of Art (ENSAPC). ‘It was literally a return to the roots! Having developed a career as a self-taught artist, I needed to explore art history and philosophy."

He went on to teach classes and seminars himself, in advertising design at ESSEC, or art at Paris 8 and EHESS, and was offered a residency at the prestigious Villa Kujoyama, the Japanese equivalent of Italy’s Villa Medicis. "I realised there that I was orchestrating movement as well as images, because the audience moves through my exhibitions according to the layout of my projections. I can therefore anticipate and steer these paths. In other words, create a choreography.’"

He thus began working with Takao Kawaguchi, a renowned contemporary dancer, member of the Dumb Type collective and pioneer of dance and video combinations. ‘We explored notions of desire and beauty in ancient Japan. Two key differences became immediately obvious compared to our present-day obsession with image and beauty criteria. The first was that desire appeared to be less conditioned by physical appearance. Many tales do not even describe the characters’ physical attributes! This was perhaps because people often lived in dimly-lit spaces furnished with lots of screens, and they wore up to twelve layers of fabric under their kimonos. Attraction was nurtured by signals that were thus much more subtle than the physical body, which was very much in the background. Desire also seemed to be very fluid. The object of love could shift from a man to a woman, or even to a ghost! In a scene from one of Japan’s masterpieces, The Tale of Genji, the prince, on failing to seduce a woman, turns his attention to her brother.’ The artists thus drew on these discoveries to create new images of beauty. "We projected kimono motifs onto dancers’ bodies in the dark. The dancers thus became pure silhouettes, sensual phantoms filled with new forms of desire."

Thesis Work

Emmanuel Guillaud is currently furthering this exploration with a PhD based on an immersive experience entitled I’ll lick the fog off your skin. ‘Due for completion in March 2024, this work constitutes the culmination of my previous creations, with an intertwining choreography of three movements; images floating in the dark, the shadows of the audience and those of the performers’ bodies.’  

This work also marks a change in size and scale. ‘The project has been made possible thanks to a host of collaborations, in particular with the altered_spaces dance company, co-directed by Patrice Goujet (E94), and the film company Ysé Productions. 7 male and female dancers are involved, along with a composer, light designer, video stream technician and playwright, among others. I sometimes need to call on my past experience as a manager!’ 

Emmanuel also draws on his financial skills. While he avails of the support of numerous institutions such as the Ministry for Culture, the Centre National de la Danse and the French National Centre of Cinema (CNC), he needs private funding to cover his budget. ‘We’ve launched two patronage campaigns. One for corporations with bespoke offers in exchange, such as backstage tours and access to rehearsals, or in-company workshops exploring diversity, beauty and creativity. The other campaign is for private individuals. Donations are eligible for tax benefits and donors will receive 20 prints of my photographs. Don’t hesitate to contact me or visit our fund-raising webpage at Hello Asso!’

Become a patron of I’ll lick the fog off your skin: 
-As an individual: colibris.link/Kis2M
-As a company:  colibris.link/mecenat_art

More informations: emmanuel@alteredspaces.fr

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni  

Translation of an article published in Reflets Magazine #151. Special offer: read the issue for free (in French).  Get the next issues (in French).