Wasteland Guitars

Many works begin with used, incomplete or overlooked instruments and components that have already had a life of their own.

Dom De Plume dismantles each instrument and works with what is already there. Components that remain suitable are retained; damaged or missing parts are repaired or replaced where necessary. Old and new elements may exist side by side, their different origins becoming part of the material identity of the work.

Many of the finished instruments are technically partscasters, assembled from components of different origins. Rather than concealing this history, Dom De Plume allows it to remain visible as part of the character of each piece.

Every finished work remains a fully functional and playable electric guitar.

The object remains.

The electric guitar became one of the defining objects of twentieth-century popular culture — closely associated with blues, rock, metal, rebellion and the mythology of the rock star.

Wasteland Guitars grew from Dom De Plume’s fascination with what happens when that icon itself begins to age. Instead of recreating conventional vintage wear, Dom De Plume imagines the instruments after their moment of cultural dominance has begun to recede: corroded, exposed and marked by a future that never happened.\n\nThe project is not about declaring the electric guitar obsolete. It is about what happens when an icon begins to become history.

Musicians disappear. Movements change. Myths fade. The object remains.

Each work therefore carries two histories: the real history of an existing instrument and an imagined future painted onto its surface.

Constructed decay.

Despite their appearance, the finished works contain no actual rust. The corrosion is created through paint.

Each guitar is fully disassembled before the surface work begins. Bodies, necks, hardware, pickups, plastics and smaller components are treated individually according to their materials and function.\n\nDom De Plume works with stains, acrylics, enamels and other pigments, building, removing and altering colour in successive layers until the surface develops the depth and irregularity associated with oxidation, worn metal and prolonged exposure. Much of the work is painted by hand with a brush.\n\nThe completed surfaces are sealed with protective clear coats so the appearance of deterioration can coexist with the physical demands of a playable instrument.