“All that once was directly lived has become mere representation.”
– Guy debord
OH LA LA LAND is a utopia, inspired by a perceived need in the zeitgeist for connectivity and community, as espoused in the anti-capitalist ethos of French philosopher Guy Debord. Created with an eye to engage would-be digital consumers in a dialogue that ponders the phenomenology of existence in the contemporary consumer paradigm via exposure to groundbreaking art and sentiment. The Society of the Spectacle, an ode to humanity itself, describes the development of modern society and its concurrent degradation of human life. The quote by the German philosopher Feuerbach in the introduction to The Society of the Spectacle sheds a lot of light on the era we live in: “But for the present age, which prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original, representation to reality, appearance to essence… truth is considered profane, and only illusion is sacred.”
The works are both traditional and modern. Based on a duality of sorts they stand as a reflection of modern society’s paradox : there is a sense of a perfect confluence between the new-world grandiosity of Los Angeles — arguably the natural home of The Spectacle— Hollywood being at the epicenter of the concept of success; and the city considered the more traditional birthplace of art, fashion and sophistication that is Paris. From the profane to the sacred, OH LA LA LAND is an exhibition all about creating a positive, spiritually rich reaction to the consumer capitalist machine’s air- conditioned nightmare; it’s about a reconnection to the soul, and ultimately the purpose of art in society.
It’s via a shared love of unfettered cultural intervention that Mannerheim Gallery, Flaunt magazine and Each x Other have come together to create a series of Oh La La Land interventions designed to inspire. An exclusive line of t-shirts and sloganeering posters, all of which will premiere at Mannerheim gallery before going on to retail.
Installation view with FRANCOIS MANGEOL, Vous êtes ici #1, 2016, Impression inkjet sur sticker vinyle, 85 x 105 cm on the window
RCKAY, Ecdysis (Self Surgery), 1997/98, Combinaison en tissu, sang de l’artiste, DImensions variables; NICOLAS MILHE, Le retour à la nature, 2011, Mouton naturalisé, or 70 x 45 x 110 cm
ROBERT MONTGOMERY, Ostende Crystal Ship, 2016, Impression inkjet sur Photo Tex, 226 x 152 cm; RUIZ STEPHINSON, I am He as You are He as You are Me 2016, Néon sur dibond aluminium noir, 180 x 55 x 40 cm; ANN GRIM, Coffee Table Book Table, 2013, Verre sécurite, contour sérigraphié Diamètre 60 cm Collection particulière
NICOLAS MILHE, Almohad Dynasty, 2014, Acrylique sur bois, 53 x 80 cm; JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC, Roswell Loving Sigh, 2009, Huile et acrylique sur toile, 90 x 70 cm
RUIZ STEPHINSON, This land is your land 2015, Papier sérigraphié à la main, 65 x 50 cm
DAVID WEST, Spontaneous Association, 1999, Collage sur papier, 50 x 66 cm; DAVID WEST, Watch her ride, 1999, Collage sur papier, 50 x 66 cm
Installtion view
THOMAS LELU, Travail, 2016, Impression inkjet sur papier photographique, 30 x 40 cm
ALIZE MEURISSE, Je n’ai plus honte, 2013, Collage sur papier, 15 x 11,5 cm
About Flaunt Magazine
Flaunt is an American satirical fashion and culture magazine based in Hollywood, Los Angeles with an office in New York. The magazine was founded in November 1998 by the current C.E.O. Luis Barajas, and Creative Director Jim Turner, as well as Long Nguyen the magazine’s Style Director. The Editor in Chief is Matthew Bedard. Instead of treading the path most taken, Flaunt Magazine has made it a point to consistently break new ground, earning itself a reputation as an engine of the avant-garde and an outlet for outsider culture. Published 10 times a year for the last 9 years, Flaunt takes pride in re-inventing itself continuously while consistently representing a hybrid of all that is interesting in entertainment, fashion, music, design, film, art, and literature. John-Paul Pryor is the Senior Editor.
About Each x Other
Created by Jenny Mannerheim, founder of Mannerheim Gallery and fashion designer Ilan Delouis back in 2012, they were inspired by a perceived need in the zeitgeist for connectivity and community, as espoused in the anti-capitalist ethos of French philosopher Guy Debord. Each x Other has in its relatively short life, pushed a radical alternative agenda all of its own, one that seeks to re-energize fashion both as a platform for artistic discourse and as a potential new form of poetic intervention. Each x Other T-shirts collection will be in-store in January 2017.
About Ruiz Stephinson
Ruiz Stephinson is an art collective based in Paris. For the past four years, they have been building an artistic practice filled with both physical objects and virtual images. Their research finds form in a diverse body of work, where each piece – from object and installation to digital media is presented as one part of an ever-growing whole. The works enrich this totality, which is constantly undergoing a myriad of evolutions and partial revelations. Often using the work as a platform for collaboration and exchange, with the viewer, and other artists, they utilise the space as a primary material for manipulation.
MANNERHEIM GALLERY
OH LA LA LAND – Curated by Ruiz Stephinson
with artists Robert Montgomery, Thomas Lélu, Nicolas Milhé, Rckay, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Ruiz Stephinson, Alizé Meurisse, David West, Ann Grim, François Mangeol.
11 – 28 SEPTEMBER 2016
6 RUE NOTRE DAME DE NAZARETH
75003 PARIS