Artist Designs Complex Mountain Sculptures Using Recycled Books
Title: Transcending the Page: Guy Laramée’s Book Sculptures Transform Knowledge into Landscapes
In an era increasingly dominated by digital media, the printed book might appear outdated to many. However, for Canadian interdisciplinary artist Guy Laramée, books transcend mere artifacts—they serve as the foundational material for artistic alchemy. In his newest series, Livros (2025), Laramée breathes new life into old volumes through a captivating fusion of literary and geological elements. The outcome is a strikingly beautiful assortment of sculptural landscapes—mountains, plateaus, valleys—crafted entirely from the essence of written knowledge.
Operating from his studio set in the stunning highlands of Nova Friburgo, Brazil, Laramée finds creative inspiration in the dramatic elevations of Pico da Caledônia. This mountainous backdrop acts as more than just a visual feast—it invigorates both the essence and framework of Livros.
Reimagining Books as Landscapes
At the core of Laramée’s artistry lies an audacious and profoundly meaningful act: reconfiguring books into terrains. Employing methods like high-pressure water carving, along with inks, pigments, and protective agents such as acrylic sealant, he shapes pages into lifelike geological features. Within the Livros series, individual pieces may resemble diminutive canyons or rock formations as if they were extracted from the Earth itself. Yet, upon closer examination, viewers can discern the spines of dictionaries or the faded remnants of once-clear text—a subtle nod to their beginnings as vessels of human intellect.
What sets Laramée’s creations apart from traditional art is his vision of destruction as a form of creation. By dismantling the book’s conventional identity—its storyline, cover, and linguistic substance—he uncovers a new essence: the outlines of imagined (yet genuinely existent) landscapes. This process does not merely reframe the book but uplifts it, converting functional knowledge into exquisite, tactile poetry.
Embodying the Passage of Time
Livros transcends mere aesthetic manipulation—it serves as a reflection on time and transience. Books act as cultural relics intended to safeguard human memory. Mountains, in contrast, signify profound geological time, eternally evolving yet seemingly everlasting. In transforming books into rocky manifestations, Laramée forges a connection across these timelines, highlighting our inability to permanently seize knowledge or dominate nature.
His artistic philosophy conveys that the permanence we attribute to books is a fallacy. As he articulated to My Modern Met in an interview, “Only when you recognize that there exists a world beyond this obsession [with accumulating knowledge], can you begin to deem it somewhat irrational… Perhaps this could lead to a collective wish for us to discard everything and commence afresh.”
This bold contemplation resonates throughout the Livros series. Each sculpture emerges as a meditative space where human aspiration intersects with environmental reverence—where curated knowledge dissolves into a harmonious disarray.
The Material and the Metaphysical
Laramée’s choice of materials emphasizes the tension between fragility and resilience. His medium includes antiquated dictionaries and encyclopedias—emblems of limited knowledge—transformed into mountain-like formations suggesting endless geological evolution. His tools—water, ink, sealants—forge a realism so profoundly convincing that, from a distance, the sculptures appear more like stone structures than processed paper.
Ranging from the compact dimensions of Livros 1 (6.66 x 9.84 x 5.91 inches) to the grand scale of Livros 4 (9.84 x 15.75 x 9.06 inches), each piece invites direct, almost tactile engagement. The folds and crevices within the pages mimic natural erosion, imbuing a physicality that surpasses the act of reading. Rather than inviting the audience to digest text, they compel viewers to ponder space, time, and transformation.
Knowledge Rewilded
Ultimately, Livros serves as a quiet act of defiance—a dismantling of intellectual accumulation in favor of organic artistry. Knowledge, once contained and linear, is returned to nature as layered intricacy. The series also raises inquiries regarding sustainability, obsolescence, and the role of art in redefining our values. Instead of lamenting the disappearance of printed pages, Laramée presents a tribute wrapped in awe and rediscovery.
Through his poetic and skillful craftsmanship, Guy Laramée reminds us that narratives—much like mountains—are not solely shaped by time but are also capable of rebirth. The Livros series encourages us to regard the page not merely as a canvas for writing but as a landscape in waiting.
To explore more of his stunning sculptural works, visit Guy Laramée’s official website.
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Artist: Guy Laramée
Website: https://guylaramee.com/
Gallery: JHB Gallery, New York
Photos: Ivan Macedo Dias
© Guy Laramée, 2025. All rights reserved.
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