The exhibition serves as a potent reminder of the desensitization that pervades modern society, a wake-up call amidst the overwhelming flood of information and consumption. ‘I’M ALIVE?’ beckons viewers to confront their own presence in this fast-paced, filter-heavy world.

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The Daisies group show captures the rebellious spirit of beauty in its latest installment. The group show, first launched by Paige Silveria in 2019, made its international debut in Paris and Biarritz, collaging cutting-edge and legacy artists.

Silveria’s show does just that, making space for newcomers like Lisa Boalt, and Troy Gibson, alongside big names like William Strobeck and Larry Clark, the work of each is renewed and strengthened by its surroundings. The show, now in Biarritz, is being held in the up-and-coming Sunburn shop. The store’s mod-reminiscent orange tiled floors, paired with artist’s own interpretations of childhood memorabilia, like Melchior Telsen’s mile-high Matrix collection, feels like stepping into a time-warp. Transfusing time and culture, Daisies Biarritz! communes viewers around the expressive power of art. 

“The show is all about youth culture and freedom of expression,” Silveria says. “Which is universal but can be expressed so differently depending on where you are in the world. I’ve always worked with international artists, but not yet outside of the US. It’s so exciting to be able to get everyone’s reactions in a different setting. And to connect with new local artists in Paris and Biarritz.”

At the heart of the exhibition is the attitude of aesthetics as anarchy. Informed by the 1966 Czech film of the same name, Silveria’s Diases! exhibitions explore the punk attributes of beauty, pulling at the hem of its historical alignment with a sense of purity, truth, or one-ness. Daises’s Biarritz exhibition strips art of its preconceived notions, to reveal a cornucopia of raw, organic expression worth gorging yourself on a la Daisies 1966. 

“With any of the shows I put on, I hope [viewers] enjoy the work,” says Silveria. “Some of which can be pretty comical — like Beatrice Domond’s diptyque: one of the photos has a shirt saying “God’s Gift,” and the other photo is a selfie of her giving a peace sign. It’s super funny. But then you have this more traditional slightly abstract giant painting on canvas by Lisa Boalt, next to a video of two kids smoking a joint on an old iPhone by William Strobeck. A leather jacket spray painted with the word “Africa” by Kyle Teh. A stack of Matrix DVDs from the hoard wizard of Paris, Melchior Tersen … I wanted the collection of work to challenge the viewers and entertain them for sure. Hopefully, get people thinking about possibilities when making artwork. There are so many ways to express yourself.” 

One fixture of the show, premiering on NUMERO Berlin, is Troy Gibson’s film “Bible” with original music. A collaged and looped collection of static images, and illustrations, “Bible” obfuscates the body, fragmenting and merging pieces of a whole–eyes, teeth, shoulders. The piece, made on a monitor in Gibson’s room, sat central in the Daisies show at Sunburn, on a monitor much like Gibson’s own, opening another portal between worlds. 

“The pieces was made on a monitor in my room pretty similar to the one that was shown,” Gibson said. “The screen was placed on the floor which went well with the rest of the work. Not everything was just placed on the walls so your eyes had to wander a bit around the space.” 

Daisies Biarritz is an invitation to wander and embrace wanderlust, welcoming the clash of culture as a site for exchange and expression. 

Mogutin was born in Siberia and is based in New York City. For over two decades, his work consisted of documenting youth culture amongst queer minorities and marginalized communities that don’t have accurate representation in mainstream media.
Stories of real people are told through the lens of immigration and his camera. Being a self-taught multimedia artist, his work bears remarkable raw authenticity encoding his exile history of being the first Russian to be granted political asylum in the US on the grounds of homophobic per- section.

Notions of displacement and identity, feelings of pride and shame, devotion and disaffection, love and hate find a place in his œuvre. The exhibition displays his works from the LOST BOYS and POLAROID RAGE series presenting the most intimate photographs with a strong personal touch.

The exhibition WHO AM I? I AM. is open for visitors at Staatsgalerie Stuttgart from 15.7. until 11.9.22.