FOR HER GRADUATION PROJECT, WENDY SYLVAIN DECIDES TO HONOR HER WRITING : FIRST, IN WRITING WITH HER
« MAI PEESU » BOOK WHERE SHE PRESENTS HER HANDWRITING AS AN IMAGE, THEN ORALLY, BY TRYING OUT VIDEO AND PERFORMANCE WITH « L’ATELIER DES CÂLINS ». THE TWO RELATED BUT DISTINCT PROJECTS WERE BORN FROM REFLECTIONS AFTER THE EXPERIENCE OF A BURNOUT.
MAI PEESU
A REFLECTION THAT STARTS FROM « WHAT IS A DECENT LIFE AND WHY AM I FAILING TO ACHIEVE IT ? TO A
« WHAT IF MY LIFE WERE OKAY MY WAY, WHO WOULD IT HURT ? »
THE BOOK INCLUDES ILLUSTRATIONS AND TEXTS.
THE ILLUSTRATOR PRESENTS REFLECTIONS ON WHAT PARALYZES HER : SHE DEFINITIVELY REJECTS HER SOCIAL MASK AND CHOOSES TO ACCEPT HER DYSFUNCTIONS AND WEAKNESSES, LIKE HER ANXIOUS IDENTITY TO THEN BECOMES A « MAI PEESU » !
« MAI PEESU » COMES FROM THE ENGLISH « MY PACE » : IT IS A «WASEI EIGO», AN ENGLISH WORD, USED IN THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE WHOSE MEANING CHANGES TO BE APPLIED TO THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE.
THE TERM MEANS
« TO DO THINGS YOUR OWN WAY WITHOUT BEING INFLUENCED BY THE OUTSIDE» OR « TO LIVE YOUR LIFE IN YOUR OWN WAY ».
BEING A « MAI PEESU » HAS A NEGATIVE CONNOTATION, BECAUSE IT MEANS HAVING A « INDIVIDUALISTIC » LIFE, WHEN THE GROUP TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER THE INDIVIDUAL. WENDY SYLVAIN REAPPROPRIATES THE TERM NEGATIVE TO ACCENTUATE HER REJECTION OF CERTAIN SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS.
HUSTLE CULTURE, CANCEL CULTURE, VALUATION OF FAST SUCCESS BY 20, SELF-ESTEEM BASED ON INSTAGRAM SUBSCRIBERS, HATERS, RUMORS, SITUATIONSHIP WITH OUR PHONES AND CRIPPILING SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS, SHE QUESTIONS OUR SOCIETY AND DECIDES TO CELEBRATE HER FREEDOM, AFTER HAVING LEFT THIS INCESSANT RACE TO BE « THE SUCCESSFUL MAN OF TOMORROW. »
L’ATELIER DES CÂLINS/ HUG WORKSHOP
ONE OF THE TEXTS OF HER « MAI PEESU » EDITION BRINGS HER TO THE SECOND PART OF HIS PROJECT :
« L’ATELIER DES CÂLINS ».
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AS A SOURCE OF ANXIETY, WENDY SYLVAIN ADDRESSES HER FEAR OF INTIMACY, CONTRADICTORY, WITH ALSO A DESIRE TO CONNECT.
WITH HER OWN VOICE IN THE BACKGROUND, SHE STAGES HERSELF AS A TEACHER IN A FICTIONAL WORKSHOP WHO TEACHES HER PARTICIPANTS TO HUG : THE HUG THEN BECOMES A SYMBOL OF CONNECTION AND SHARING OF ONESELF, OF ONE’S PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL SPACE.
WENDY SYLVAIN BECOMES, FOR THE TIME OF A PROJECT, HER OWN CHARACTER AND DELIVERS TO US WITH SERIOUSNESS AND HUMOR, HER PARTICULAR LOOK ON THE OTHER IN THIS NEW VISUAL UNIVERSE.
UNTIL THE END, SHE LETS A MYSTERY SETTLE IN : WHAT DO WE HAVE IN FRONT OF OUR EYES ? IS IT REALLY A WORKSHOP WITH PARTICIPANTS THAT WE HEAR BUT DO NOT SEE OR A LONELY FIGHT BETWEEN HER AND HER THOUGHTS ?
DISCONNECTION, MISUNDERSTANDINGS, BOUNDARIES, CONNECTION, INTIMACY, PRIVATE LIFE, SECRET GARDEN, PUBLIC SPACE AND VITAL SPACE, THIS PROJECT IS A STORY OF THIS DANCE BETWEEN THE SELF AND THE OTHER.
