Instagramed Reality

French Artist’s Melancholic and Disturbing Metaphorical Images

‘Most of my ideas begin with a song title or lyric, or I try to express my day by day feelings,’ Guillaume Lamazou-Laresse, artist and popular Instagramer @zoumala, explained to The Plus. Taking this inspiration, he then interprets sentiments such as ‘Reality Sucks’, ‘Heaven Can Wait’, and ‘Hang Up’, into images.

‘I don’t think there is a particular message in my pictures,’ Guillaume added, ‘but I’m happy that some people can see themselves in it sometimes.’

The 36 year-old, France-based artist previously worked in an office. He now uses his work as a way to express his emotions, only posting when he feels inspired to. We asked him more about his work:

The Plus: How long does each image takes you to make (from shooting to post-production)?
Guillaume Lamazou-Laresse: Each picture takes me around 4 or 5 hours. I do everything alone, so sometimes the shoots can take a long time.

TP: Why does your work only appear on Instagram, is there a special reason for that?
GLL: I’m actually working on doing a website, but it’s taking me a long time to do it. And for now I think Instagram is the easiest and most instant/reactive way to show people what I do. And I have to say that the community there is amazing!

TP: What’s your view on social media?
GLL: I only use Instagram, so my view on social media is very limited. But from this point of view it’s amazing. You can share and have an instant reaction from people around the world. It’s pretty cool.

Instagram: @zoumala