PHILTH HAUS: LYLEX 1.0 will develop oyster mushrooms in sculptural encasements, fed with the blood from an anonymous body of a transgender person undergoing hormonal and dietary modulation therapies.
Expounding on themes of exploitative globalization, wealth inequality, new age therapies— and the inherent privileging of certain bodily forms and functions over others— the modified mushrooms will be transformed into pills and powders, with branded jewelry and apparel available for sale throughout the exhibition.
Since oyster mushrooms retain much of the blood nutrients and endocrine compounds of the blood they’re fed, these elements may enter into the bodies of the consumers of the LYLEX products: the economically privileged, with a penchant for new age therapies, which provide enhanced appearance, psyche, and longevity.
By introducing the blood of a community into an edible “lifestyle” product, LYLEX 1.0 hopes to confront how globalization has allowed for the mass-distribution of exploitation, at a distance, by certain privileged bodies onto economically disenfranchised ones.
These seemingly one-way systemic hierarchies of financial and social domination are repurposed by LYLEX. Indeed, these systems of wealthy lifestyle health-food consumption are made into a means through which the under-privileged can contaminate, influence, and modify the socioeconomically enfranchised.
Jewelry and apparel featuring LYLEX branding, and a three-channel video advertisement accompany these items. Further glimpses into the mysterious world of LYLEX, product and/or persona, lie within an accompanying text published by FCCW, a haunting (fictional) documentation of the experiences of one such user and her lover/friend as they embark on a relationship with themselves and the unwieldy entity that is LYLEX.
LYLEX 1.0 PROGRAMMING
Join us at these events, as rhizomorphs from LYLEX 1.0 spread through Los Angeles art spaces this summer:
PHASE I: SAMPLE
Human Resources: 410 Cottage Home St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Saturday, June 4, 6-9 pm
Opening event for LYLEX 1.0: skate and music performance with LYLEX biological samples and unreleased tracks from ROCO’s upcoming E.P. REV.
PHASE II: DOSE
NAVEL: 1611 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
July 16th- August 7th Saturday–Monday, Noon to 6pm, and by appointment
Opening party featuring DJ sets by St. Mozelle, IdealBlackFemale, with more to come, and with strip performances by Jolene, a trans-inclusive dance collective.
PHASE III: MONITOR
Exhibition Opening
FCCW: 1800 S Brand Blvd, Suite 111, Glendale CA 91204
Saturday, August 13, 6-8 pm
LYLEX 1.0 arrives at FCCW, the final site of the LYLEX exhibition series. Come have a drink with us at and see the show!
PHASE IV: REPORT
Reading
FCCW: 1800 S Brand Blvd, Suite 111, Glendale CA 91204
Friday, August 26, 8 pm
Reading of LOGS by LYLEX via Andra. A session for discussion and questions will follow after the reading.
EXHIBITION DATES
Human Resources
410 Cottage Home St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
June 4-June 10
Wednesday–Sunday, Noon to 6pm, and by appointment
*We had to close the show early at this location due to a violent attack on the exhibit and the following inadequate response by Human Resources LA. You can read their apology and statement on these events here.
NAVEL
1611 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
July 16th- August 7th
Thursday–Monday, Noon to 6pm, and by appointment
Feminist Center for Creative Work
1800 S. Brand Blvd. Suite 111, Glendale, CA 91204
August 13–August 27
Thursday-Saturday 12-5pm, and by appointment via [email protected]
ABOUT THE ARTIST
PHILTH HAUS is a collective of 6 member-clients currently represented by ANDRA. Each member-entity instructs ANDRA on how to produce art installations, performance, and sonics which ephemerally embody one or–less frequently–multiple collective members. This process gives sanctity to post-anthropomorphic materials, objects, and systems as capable of holding the intelligences of each entity. The collective’s methodology is a material activation of the immaterial and a process of transubstantiation. Recent materials have included hormonally active waste water, lithium carbonate, machine learning, blood, and music. Through this collective, each member hopes to transcend to a realm in which the planet and body are made one via globalized economies, identity semiotics, and biological contamination.
Each entity focuses on particular phenomenon such as artificial intelligence’s understanding of young girlhood (SYLLA), endocrine disruption pollution politics (COLY), body material market value and propriety (LYLEX), post-lingual ambient music (ROCO), maternity with disease (ANDRA), and intersectional chemicals used in treatment of psychopathology and in automotive production (PHILIP).
The collective has been exhibited in Los Angeles, New York, Florence, and Amsterdam at spaces and programs such as Lo Schermo Dell’arte Film Festival (Florence), W139 (Amsterdam), NAVEL (LA), Times Square Space (NYC), Boston CyberArts Gallery (Boston), Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge), SpaceUS (Boston), UCLA Performing Arts Center (LA), De Ateliers (Amsterdam), and the Amsterdam Arts Weekend, etc. Members have featured in publications such as The Boston Art Review, Badlands Magazine, Trains Zine, and Paper Magazine. Newly commissioned glass paintings will exhibit with Proxyco Gallery (NYC) Fall 2022. Finally, their upcoming album REV will be released with the KW Institute (Berlin) Fall 2022.
LYLEX 1.0 is supported in part by the Pasadena Arts Alliance among other funders and FCCW members. This project has been made possible with production support and assistance from consultant Joseph Stewart, Amber Ibarreche, and Tiny Splendor.