It's said that art is a powerfully subjective field, with both artist and audience coming together to forge a unique experience for each viewer based on their own perspective. Nowhere is that truer than in the works of Guillaume de la Mer, an uplifted octopus who has dedicated both his life and his extra limbs to the reinvention of classical painting.
Shortly after his rise to sapience, Guillaume found himself surrounded by those whose perspective was entirely different than his own. The issue wasn't one of cultural identity, or human versus animal distinctions; Guillaume found that others had entirely different sensations to his own.
The way a human would taste or touch, or hold an object in his hands and know at once every corner of it, was baffling to the new uplift, and fascinated him completely. Lacking the means to download his consciousness into a new morph, he turned to artistic expression as an outlet for his longing and the desire to understand how others experienced the natural world.
Painting proved challenging at first given the lack of fine motor control and body awareness. Guillaume often struggled with classical techniques because he simply lacked the physiology to execute them. Forced to innovate, Guillaume trained his many limbs to act on their typical high-level commands and still execute roughly the stroke he envisioned.
The result was an entirely new discovery: an artist whose own limbs could surprise him. Each work fashioned by Guillaume de la Mer is, at its heart, is a cooperative piece between himself and his limbs. The artist has even begun to refer to them in the third person, calling them his "assistants" in frequent interviews.
"Each of them has opinions," he's been quoted as saying, putting particular emphasis on the word, "and we do not always agree."
The works of Guillaume de la Mer are sought after not only because of their artistic merit but for the sheer effort known to go into each stroke. Many octomorphs in particular appreciate his unique use of colors and shape, granting others a chance to see the world as they feel it.
Something of a hermit himself, Guillaume rarely makes public appearances, preferring instead to do broadcast interviews over the mesh, typically with no video component. He resides in a small semi-aquatic habitat with several linked "dry studios" for his various moods, all connected by a series of pressurized acrylic tubes with an assortment of textured pads along the way to keep his senses sharp and provide occasional inspiration all their own.
He has already branched out into other artistic areas, including ultraviolet paints that add an extra meaning for those with the power to see it, as well as a polymer paint and "canvas" meant to be touched that provides his audience with the full tactile sensation of his raised images. Guillaume's latest project is a partnership with an infomorph DJ named "K-2," who is working with him to design a series of sound samples and electromagnetic wave patterns which will provide a unique sensory experience for infomorphs across the mesh.
Widely revered for his willingness to bring new sensory experiences to those who might otherwise never have had the chance to experience them, Guillaume has been courted by (and mistakenly associated with) a number of social and political movements, most notably the Mercurials, Preservationists and Anarchists. While Guillaume has never openly sided with any particular political agenda, he has remained outspoken on his own views when speaking publicly; views which have made him unpopular with those factions less interested in unilateral rights and privileges for all.
Hooks:
Guillaume plans to anonymously to send his latest series of five oversized paintings to a private gallery in the Jovian capital of Liberty on Ganymede. Given the Jovian opinion on uplifts, neither he nor any of his typical couriers can make the delivery directly, so he is seeking individuals interested significantly boosting their reputation in exchange for high-risk work. Guillaume has specifically asked for trained individuals who feel they can deliver the goods to their destination safely and without the knowledge of the local authorities; in essence, smuggling the works into Liberty.
The gallery owner is a close friend of Guillaume's and a rare Jovian; one who appreciates the uplift's art and its message and wishes it to have a voice in Liberty. Unfortunately, the local authorities have gotten wind of the delivery and will be setting an ambush at the gallery to publicly destroy the artist's work.
It is the party's responsibility to bypass the port authority and ferry the works to the gallery intact, survive or avoid the ambush, and prevent the local authorities from silencing the voice of opposition present in Guillaume's controversial works.
