EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ARVIDA BYSTRÖM
TEXT: CARL GUSTAF von PLATEN
BILDER: CARL GUSTAF von PLATEN
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Explain a little of what atmosphere you were trying to create when you were installing your work in Gallery Bon.
If it would just be photos on the walls I though one might just look in the magazine or go on my tumblr to see the set of photos. So I was given a room and some time to do this. I usually think about that when curating I want people to feel engaged and feel like they're interacting with the art in someway, even if it might not be directly so. So for example, scrolling through a tumblr. When you just feel you need more kinda and also a good tumblr is like someones brain. To get the chance to look inside something like that is just pretty amazing. And i guess that's how I want a show to feel like. Also it's nice how you can play w the concept of the ~white walled rooms~ in art.
What was the thought behind the installation featuring Jillian Mayer's video art?
pretty simple i'd say. i found her video, and i previously knew about the "how to make up to not get detected by cameras" by adam harvey which her work it inspired by. her video just attracted me loads cuz it's taking such an internet ~female~ way of expression, through video logs not uncommonly about how to do hair or make up. just love et.
Would you say that you have a "fanbase"?
yeah i'd say so. even though i'd like to think of all us just getting inspired by each other rather than me being on some kind of top.
Do you think that your art would have the same style that it has today if you didn't get a tumblr in 2011?
No. I got loads of friends and inspiration through tumblr.
Do you prefer curating of creating art?
They both go hand in hand, I kinda come up w loads of things while curating.
How do you like London compared to Stockholm?
It's good cuz it's more open and embracing. I kinda worked from my room all the time always anyways, but more people are open for getting me involved in things here. There is just not enough of things going on in sthlm for people helping each other out in that way. idk, kinda suxx.
Where would you go if you could go anywhere right now?
NYC or the woods. Probably do both this summer. Maybe Buenos Aires though, loads of qt girls there yo. Miss it.
You are known for your self portraits, What is it that attracts you to the idea of a self portrait?
idk, not much. it just happens. and it rokks ok.
If you could work with any artist, alive or dead, who would that be?
Like seriously, probably all the people I know through internet rn anyways.
As we approached Galleri Bon, in Stockholm, Södermalm, I immediately recognized the flickering pink fluorescents glistening on the pavement. It was obvious that Arvida Byström was exhibiting her work in Galleri Bon tonight.
The initial reaction to the gallery space was excitement. It wasn’t only an excitement for the free cocktails and beer provided by Absolut and Peroni, but also an excitement to finally see Arvida’s art in the flesh. Arvida Byström, born in Stockholm in 1991, is somewhat of an Tumblr celebrity. Infamous for her feminist portraits and crystal clear pastel-aesthetic, she has previously worked together with artists like Petra Collins and Tim Kelley. Arvida now blogs for Nylon magazine Japan and curates exhibitions at Gal, her gallery in London, where the Coven will open their exhibition named Soapbox on Thursday this week.
"Pastel gradients and stockphoto-projections provided a “late-nineties-sleepover-before-prom” feeling"
The mercurial installations at Gallery Bon that were all strung together with similar themes made the gallery no gallery at all. In fact it felt as if I had been transported to the birth of the internet. Pastel gradients and stockphoto-projections provided a “late-nineties-sleepover-before-prom” feeling. I enjoyed the dynamic projections on the photos on plywood. The whole exhibition was dynamic in the sense that nothing was static, here was always some degree movement and interaction in most of the pieces, and this provided more of an experience, not just a mingle and inspection. The light also created an ambiance that clad the gallery space in a unique feeling. A feeling of experimentation and expression, a space where gender roles don’t exist, a space where puberty is glamorised, a space where romance is digitalized, a space where internet culture had been concretized. Simply put, a place where Arvida Byström is having an exhibition.
I emailed Arvida to get to know more about her ideas and feelings behind the exhibition, and Arvida herself.
How did it feel to have your first solo exhibition in Stockholm?
Weeeelll, jillians work was in there so not COMPLETELY solo. but yeah it was fun. i don't know if i would have thought i would do this for like, a year ago.
Your art is often about gender, is there any other area you would like to further explore with your art?
Well, i do think i explore other things as gender. sometimes it's just colors or small ideas. or internet as the latest show. and i think it kinda discussed the white room, or maybe that was just like a discussion i had with myself. like i got really interested in curating lately but i still have this idea in my head that i can't do it cuz u have to be super academic and im not and i don't know if i want to be because i don't know when i would have the time for that.
