Arvida Byström
CHART Art Fair
30.08—01.09.19

Arvida Byström (b. 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a multidisciplinary artist known for employing a hyper-feminine aesthetic to explore themes concerning identity, body image, social dynamics, mental health and new medias through primarily photography and performance. With her substantial social media following and already extensive career, she exerts a definite influence on contemporary art and culture.

By her early teens, Byström was publishing stylized portraits of herself on social media platforms, effectively foreshadowing the communicative power of the selfie. The following years saw her evolve into somewhat of a proxy for a young generation cultivating their identity, expression and influence on predominantly image-based social medias. Shooting her first commissioned work for Vice when she was just 16 years old quickly led to a succession of work that solidified Byström’s international reputation as a photographer of importance. Her work simultaneously interprets and challenges the visual language and norms that are reinforced through virtual, commercial and social interaction. Through her work she demonstrates a digital fluency that is becoming increasingly essential.

Recent exhibitions include Body Fiction(s)at MNHA (LU),Role Playat The Orange Garden (Rome, IT), Inflated Fictionat Fotografiska (Stockholm, SE), Virtual Normalityat MbdK (DE), A Queen Withinat NOMA (LA, US) & Cherry Pickingat Gallery Steinsland Berliner (Stockholm, SE).

Byström’s photography has been published in various print and online publications. Her piece Selfie Stick Aerobicshas been performed at Tate Modern (London, UK), V&A (London, UK) and Moderna Museet (Stockholm, SE). In collaboration with American artist Molly Soda she has edited and published an anthology of images censored by Instagram called Pics or It Didn’t Happen(Mima, 2018).