With its expanding art scene and rapid gallery boom, L.A. is the perfect place to kickstart a series of intimate events designed to support vibrant creative communities from around the world. Inspired by emerging global talent for whom the internet is a playground, Dazed is joining forces with global initiative B&O Play by Bang & Olufsen to do just that, starting with a dinner party exhibition at the iconic Los Angeles Athletic Club in L.A. that brings together a diverse selection of interdisciplinary artists to showcase their work. Among the guests to exhibit work are Dazed’s featured artists Amalia Ulman and Arvida Byström – refamiliarise yourself with them below.
Conceptual artist Amalia Ulman received critical acclaim after hoaxing the Internet with her four month long Instagram performance, Excellences & Perfections. Through method acting and staged posts, the 26-year-old Central Saint Martins graduate used social media to fabricate an alternate identity. Constructing a semi-fictional narrative, she led her 76,000 followers to believe that she was an aspiring actress who relocated to L.A. and underwent cosmetic surgery. Ulman’s latest project took her to the highly secretive Pyongyang in North Korea, culminating in a personal portrait of the capital city, made up of photographs, video and sounds titled The Annals of Private History, presented by London gallery Arcadia Missa as part of Frieze 2015.
Swedish model, photographer and Internet artist Arvida Byström, uses self-portraits to explore identity. Discovering Tumblr as a teenager, the pink-obsessed Byström began developing her playful pastel palette online. In an interview with Dazed, Byström explained that it was only when she was introduced to feminism and queer feminism that she began to change how she viewed herself. “I started trying different things,” she says, “And I was less interested in making myself look beautiful, or looking a certain way.” Shaping her artistic output, the 23-year-old now combines her aesthetic with images body hair, periods and effeminate men, deconstructing perceptions of beauty, femininity and gender ideals.
Follow the event on Instagram by searching #beoplay.
www.beoplay.com
