Willy Cartier. Artist. Creative. Painter. Dancer. Actor. Model. Producer. Director. The list goes on. Willy’s clearly gifted. He has talent pouring out of him - but he’s not loud about it. He’s quiet, introverted, genuinely astonished that his life is going in the direction it is.
As a model, Willy Cartier has been shot by some of the best in the business. As a photographer, producer and director, he’s shot for some of the best in the business. As an artist, he’s still making his name, although with exhibitions around the world you could argue he’s already there.
“When life has been hard on you, when people have been hard on you, when you have been hard on yourself - it’s very easy to go to the dark side and say ‘fuck it’.”
Before Willy Cartier got his dog Atlas, it's likely this interview would have been unbelievably difficult for him to navigate. Willy’s career as a model, dancer, actor and creative might brand him an extrovert, the reality is very different. Being shy doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be brilliant, career-strong and have an impressive resume in the arts, we all know that. But it does come with certain challenges.
In this episode of Pack Heavy, Chase Light, Willy openly talks about being an introvert and how he used to struggle talking to people. He was much more comfortable spectating quietly than asking questions - but is living proof that being quiet isn’t a handicap.
Willy started modeling in 2009. By 2010, he was one of the faces of Givenchy, and after that - his career took off. Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Gaultier, Diesel, Vogue - you name it, he’s done it. But Willy wasn’t just serving looks in front of the camera, he was absorbing everything possible about photography. Watching the best of the best work, taking their tricks of the trade and quietly locking them away to try himself - away from the glare of other creatives.
“Every time I touch a painting when I paint, I am scared I’m just going to ruin it. But once you put your finger on it, you don’t think anymore and you think ‘oh I should have started so much earlier’.”
Even after hosting his artwork in exhibitions around the world, there’s still a voice in Willy that questions his every move. His pieces aren’t classically beautiful, but they are brilliant. They’re a wonderful juxtaposition to his past life as a model - a career forged from the perception of traditional beauty. His artwork, unintentionally, contradicts the industry that put him on the map - and we can’t help but ask ourselves whether the titling of his first exhibition, The Mute, was an acknowledgement of the strength that has come out of Willy’s own shyness.