Press release | Amsterdam, 5 November 2012      

Foam in Paris in November
Presenting Rico & Michael at nofound photo fair

Foam has been invited to exhibit at this year's nofound photo fair in Paris and will present the up-and-coming Swiss artists Rico & Michael. The second edition of nofound, a fair for contemporary photography, will take place from 16 - 19 November at Garage Turenne. Along with the annual international photography fair Paris Photo, nofound is one of the many activities and exhibitions during the 'mois de la photo' in Paris in November.

Foam presents the installation Double Extension Beauty Tubes by Swiss artists Rico & Michael, which was on show earlier this year in Foam 3h, Foam's exhibition space for young talent in the museum in Amsterdam. Rico & Michael  have taken pictures and have filmed teenagers for more than two years, creating their archive of photographs and videos of today's Facebook generation. More than a thousand pictures are being presented in a dark space on ten iPads. The order of the images is intuitive and flows in a stream of consciousness. Metalheads, vampires, platinum blonds in high fashion outfits pose self-consciously in front of Rico & Michael's camera. The rhythm in which the images are presented greatly influences the experience of the installation. Sometimes you see the same teenager ten times in a row, then you see ten different but fast-changing images. Sometimes the presentation slows down, sometimes the images actually stop for a moment. Using soft-focus and theatrical lighting, the photographs are balanced between eighties aesthetics and glam kitsch. The rhythm, the quantity of photographs and the pulsing beat of the music all conjure up an experience of contemporary youth cultures such as Emo (emotional hardcore), gothic, heavy metal and punk.

The youth of today grows up with the picture-worlds of the internet. Platforms of self-presentation such as Myspace and Facebook are a normal part of their lives. It is natural for them to learn at a very young age how to present themselves in pictures. They are also used to adopting alter egos and playing with their (sexual) identities. Each and every day they decide yet again who they want to be and what role they want to play. Rico & Michael use young people's visual sophistication, fantasies and skilled self-presentation. The duo adapt their 'in-your-face' view on photography, documenting the construction of their visual identity. The result is an intriguing project on youth and pop culture.

Rico Scagliola (1985) en Michael Meier (1982) live and work in Zürich. They studied photography at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste from 2006 to 2010 and began collaborating as a duo in 2008. Since then Rico & Michael have worked on their archive of photographs and videos of today's Facebook generation, commercial commissions and projects for magazines. In 2011 Patrick Frey Editions published their 480 page book, Neue Menschen. Last summer Double Extension Beauty Tubes was shown at Foam 3H, Foam's space for young, up-and-coming talent, and in Museum Winterthur in Switzerland.

This installation has been made possible by Van Bijlevelt Stichting and the Gieskes-Strijbis Fund.

Double Extension Beauty Tubes by Rico Scagliola and Michael Meier can be seen at nofound Photofair Garage Turenne, 16-19 November 2012, 66 Rue De Turenne 75003 Paris. Price: €5,00

PREVIEW: Friday 16th November 2012, 3pm to 6pm
OPENING: Friday 16th November 2012 from 7pm. www.nofoundphotofair.com

Note to editors: For information and visual material please contact the communications department, e-mail foam[at]foam.org or phone +31 (0)20 5516500.

Foam is sponsored by the BankGiroLoterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Delta Lloyd and the VandenEnde Foundation.

Foam
Keizersgracht 609
1017 DS Amsterdam
phone: + 31 (0)20 5516500       
www.foam.org