What business change can learn from the affichistes

The affichistes — artists like Jacques Villeglé and Raymond Hains — didn’t paint. They tore.

They wandered the streets of post-war Paris peeling back layers of posters, revealing the chaos and beauty underneath. Their work didn’t start with a blank canvas. It started with what was already there — damaged, overlapping, accidental.

It was art as archaeology. Art as disruption. Art as conversation.

And strangely, it speaks to business change.

Too often, change programmes begin with the fantasy of a clean slate. We write visions, build target operating models, and roll out plans — ignoring the emotional residue, cultural layers, and lived experience already pasted across the organisation.

The affichistes remind us that change doesn’t begin with addition. It begins with exposure.

Tearing back the surface. Revealing the tension and texture beneath. Making space for people to see what’s already there — sometimes conflicting, sometimes beautiful.

In this way, change becomes less about installing something new, and more about curating what’s been hidden. Making meaning from the mess. And creating something authentic, not imposed.

After all, organisations aren’t spreadsheets. They’re walls covered in stories.