CITRACIT

“Citracit in the sky”, modified postcard, 10,5 x 14,8 , 2016

Youri Telliug talks with the artist Adrien Guillet about his project Citracit

Youri Telliug - What is Citracit? Is it real or fictional?

Adrien Guillet - Citracit did really exist! But not for a long time... André Citroën was very interested in North Africa and since he succeeded in crossing the Sahara by car in 26 days in 1922 he realized the touristic potentialities of this area, which at the time was one of the French colonies. Consequently he launched the “Agence Transafricaine Citroën”, a travel agency also known as CEGATAF or Citracit. On 6th January 1925 all was ready for the inauguration of Citracit. Andre Citroën had imagined an inaugural journey with guests like the king of Belgium, the prince of Monaco and representatives of the French government. But then all was canceled due to a telegram claiming that the security of the inauguration could not be assured. Citracit was ready - staff, hotels, camping sites, boats, cars... but André Citroën decided to withdraw his project. He never wanted to hear about this project again and gave orders to bring back to Paris what was transportable and sell or destroy the rest.

YT - Did he ever talk about Citracit again before his death in 1935? Or was he trying to conceal this failure?

AG - No, he never talked about Citracit again... That is why I became very interested in this story. Citracit is like a secret hidden in one of the drawers of history. The way he figured out how to dissimulate Citracit was brilliant. He used his knowledge in communication and advertising leveraging a smoke screen to divert attention.

YT - To divert attention like a magician? What was his trick?

AG - I do not know if crisis communication strategies are magic but there is no smoke without fire. In this case, the fire was a philanthropic crusade called “La Croisière Noire”, leading from Alger all the way to Madagascar, through Mali, Nigeria, the Congo and Tanzania...

YT - Who was involved in these crusades? Who participated in and undertook these travels? How did this project help support to extinct the memories of Citracit?

AG - In “La Croisière Noire”, a film directed by Georges-Marie Haardt and Louis Audouin-Dubreuil, the painter Alexandre Lacovleff, the movie director Léon Poirier, the mineralogist Charles Brull , a doctor, an entomologist, drivers, mechanicians and others participated.... Andre Citroën used “La Croisière Noire” to make a lot of noise in Paris and launched a vast publicity campaign. He deployed different media as well as a huge variety of commercial products for the market targeting consumers desires on many different levels: adventure stories, painting exhibitions, postcards made from photographs, movie projections ... a lot of goodies, toys, ashtrays, posters, key chains, accessories for car, colonial sculptures... It is hard to imagine how exciting and new it was at the time. But comparing some pages of “Tintin au Congo” with postcards of “La Coisière Noire” we can understand the power and impact “La Croisière Noire” did have on the imagination of the people during this period.

YT - Now I understand the reason why you decided to exhume Citracit: you wanted to shed light on this blind spot of French history. And now, could you please tell me more about your approach to these historical facts?

AG - The idea is to play a controversial tribute to Andre Citroën. A tribute, because he was a genius in what we call branding today. In the early twenties he already knew that advertising was more important than the actual products. And controversial, because I do not celebrate Citroënʼs success - creating, manufacturing and selling cars - but his failure - bringing people from Paris to Timbuktu.

YT - Are you trying to envision Citracit beyond the failures?

AG - Excactly! I imagine an uchronia in which Citracit succeeds. Citroën and the cars business have left the place for more important tour operators in Africa. And given that André Citroën was a great master in communication I imagine he would have created souvenir gift shops in each Citracit hotel to sell collections of artefacts, a blend of African traditional art and promotional brand products. Therefore, the first step of my project was to create an on-line gift shop to display and sell souvenirs of Citracit I created from scratch. 

“Le Patron”, bronze bust, embroidered wool cap brodé and Citracit sunglasses, 35 x 15 x 20 cm, 2016. “Fétiche André Citroën en Bula-Matari”, ceramics statuette, 24 x 10 x 8.5 cm, 19 copies, 2016. “Bula-Matari” (Une femme Logo), collage on wood, glass and leather, 29 x 21.5 x 1.3 cm, 2016.

YT - The on-line shop was the first step. Are there any further steps for your uchronia with Citracit?

AG - One of the next steps is certainly to elaborate the exhibition of the Citracit collection, the product line I started to develop for the on-line shopping platform. In a vernacular manner of street vending, a wooden board on banana cardboard boxes was composed for the exhibition “Emporium of Benevolent Data” at Corner College, Zurich, 2016. For the exhibition “Open” at Espace T2, Paris, 2016, the collection of merchandising products was displayed in a vertical glass showcase. I want to develop more strategies to display the Citracit collection, also in situ. 

exhibition view “Emporium of Benevolent Data”, Corner College, Zurich, 2016

YT - I think your last exhibition “L’ Agence de Voyage Citracit”, in Paris 2017, was created for the artist run space Indice 50. Could you present briefly the idea behind this fictional travel agency?

AG – The space Indice 50 is a showcase in a small street in the 20th arrondissement, a part of Belleville in Paris. Since the beginning I was interested in a configuration that allows me to develop a site specific installation. The concept was to create a fictional travel agency of Citracit for two months. I got inspired by real travel agencies in Paris to display a selection of the Citracit collection and designed the sign “L’ Agence de Voyage Citracit” and posters highlighting the latest travel offers “Paris - Tombouctou” to simulate a true agency. I also painted a black sheet with bleach in the Bogolan style, a dying and printing technic for cotton, mainly applied in West Africa, Mali and along the Niger river, on which the sculpures - ceramics, stone, bronze and wood -, modified Citroën promotional gifts - a vinyl disc, wool caps, a gourd and pens - and exotic and decorative elements - desert roses, shopping cart coin and Sahara sand - were presented.

YT – Does it work? Do people come inside the shop to get information about the journeys across Africa?

AG – Actually, the idea was not to bring people to the agency but to elaborate a coherent and autonomous visual ensemble based on the iconography of Citracit in North Africa, especially in Algeria. To answer your question, yes, I think it works. The neighborhood was perfect for this kind of project. Situated in one of the still forgotten but busy streets, the display in the showcase drew the attention to people who are not especially interested in contemporary art, nor in Citroën or in tourism. They stopped by when on their way home, to do shopping or after school.They had a closer look and some spent time learning more about the project. 

exhibition view “L’ Agence de Voyage Citracit”, Indice 50, Paris, 2017 and “Paris / Tomboucto” , poster, offset prints, 60 x 40 cm, 23 numbered and signed copies, 2017.

YT – Since the beginning of the interview we are talking about what didnʼt happend, what is hidden... On the other side you are manufacturing real objects, hijacking true Citroën gifts. You locate your own strategies to exhibit your creations in real art spaces. These contrasts of failure|/success, destroyed/created, hidden/exhibited, fictional/real... are, I think the DNA of Citracit. This becomes very obvious with “L’ Agence de Voyage Citracit” I think. Is step three of you project going back to North Africa, to follow the footsteps of Citracit?

AG – Definitely. You are absolutely right. This is the natural development of my intentions with Citracit. I am planning to go to Alger. And obviously I will continue creating new elements and new installations of the Citracit souvenirs gifts, with the support of other artists, musicians, historians... I also want to work on an edition that will bring together all the accumulated material.

YT – Citracit has great years ahead!

AG – Sure it has !

Paris 2017