Following in the footsteps of Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus, Guy Laramée uses his art to explore the existential dilemma and the reality of the human condition.
Unlike his predecessors he does it with a modern twist, addressing the threat posed by modern technology and the infamous e-book.
By carving detailed landscapes out of books, Laramée challenges our perceptions of knowledge and addresses fears about shifting culture.
“The erosion of cultures – and of culture as a whole – is the theme that runs through the last 25 years of my artistic practice. Cultures emerge, become obsolete, and are replaced by new ones. With the vanishing of cultures, some people are displaced and destroyed,” he explains.
A bit of an all rounder, over the past 30 years Laramée has knocked up an eclectic CV including everything from musical composition and theatre writing to sculpture, painting and literature.
We found The Great Wall the most interesting of his pieces, which can be seen in our gallery below or on his site.
What do you think about Laramée’s use of books as his medium? Are they just aesthetically impressive or do they make you think about the bigger picture?