Les Créations Messagères : William Amor
Artist Interview
Q1 – Please share your history and background with our readers.
My artistic approach of upcycling consumer products considered as waste to recover their material and ennoble them with nobility began around 2005.
I professionalized my approach and created my artist status and company in 2015.
Q2 – How long does it take to make your artwork? How does your process work?
A very long time! Often hundreds or even thousands of hours for some projects with several months passing between the idea, the drawing, the selection or collection of the scraps, cleaning and preparation to final assembly.
Q3 – As an artist, what does an average day look like for you?
Every hour is a surprise! There is no typical day. You have to adapt to the unexpected. I also discovered that by becoming a professional artist, I became an entrepreneur. That I have to juggle between imagining a project, selling it, transmitting and orchestrating a team, researching, experimenting, creating, producing but also communicating, & meeting clients. Boredom and procrastination are not part of my days!
My artistic approach was born in Paris. I had the chance to grow up in the countryside in contact with nature and living things, and that's how my fascination for the world of plants and living things was born.
I was a child with a very sensitive character and a need to express myself artistically. The beauty and diversity of flowers has always interested and fascinated me. I dreamed of being a botanist, an artist, expressing my sensitivity. But at the time, I did not have access to the culture and belief that I could become an artist, that working from my passion could be possible.
A new beginning in Paris
In Paris, the beginning of a young adult's life is not easy. I missed nature, plants and my landmarks.
So, I expressed myself artistically during my free time to make me feel good, painting, sculpture, lighting. It was an expression that I could relate to art therapy at the time.
Inspired by Urban Surroundings
During those first years in the city of light, I was a bit shocked to see the amount of waste soiling the capital.
And one day (when I missed flowers and the countryside), I focused my mind on a stray plastic bag, the texture of which reminded me of the fragility of flower petals.
Tradition and History
From my reflection to ennoble our waste and to shape them as noble materials, I was inspired by the gestures applied in the crafts. French heritage, the crafts have this sense to sublimate, enhance the material in an objective of a noble, precious and aesthetic. These gestures, unique know-how orchestrated by the intelligence of the artist or craftsman.
In a way my creations are a bit hybrid: a contemporary art conception (a work that tells a story, that spreads a message) associated with techniques inspired by the art and crafts that brings the rules of the meticulousness, the precision of the technique and a naturally aesthetic and sophisticated rendering.
Artist Interview – Environmental Views
I was asked if I was an environmental activist? My answer was no! My actions or my creations will not change the world. I just think to propose a little bit of sweet poetry to perhaps bring to carry another glance on the things, to break with the judgments of values.
This criticism could be reflected as follows: our value judgments can denigrate and discredit the true value of things, of the living, of humans and in the end can miss the essential, the true treasure. It's a bit like the revolution of our ugly waste that decides to reveal itself as noble as the diamond.
Sourcing Materials
I consider our trash as messenger seeds. In this poetry, I try to recover materials in my daily life — when I cross garbage during my walks in the streets of Paris or washed up on the beaches during my vacations.
For certain projects, I call on the general public to participate in the depollution of an area and help me to collect the material. It is important for me, because it is the beginning of poetry.
And Creating Art
The objective is to create unique pieces of art, to order, that carry meaning and poetry. Creations that bring a little bit of fantasy and dream in this rather rough and violent world.
I let myself be carried by my intuition. Each project is a unique adventure that challenges everything. I want to constantly renew myself, to go further rather than be satisfied with what I have.
