Expo in Toulouse: the artist Ouch gives a layer with “But what is this shit again?”
After the highly controversial exhibition “What the hell is this shit?” » presented on the quays of La Daurade in December 2021, the sequel returns in mid-September, with « But what is this shit again? by street artist, Ouch. It hasn’t started yet, but it’s already sparking controversy.
It will certainly annoy, astonish, intrigue or amuse the audience. Surely the three felt. The continuation of the exhibition by the artist Ouch who, at the end of 2021, had caused a lot of reaction from passers-by on the quays of the Daurade, will surely, from September 15, continue to fuel comments. “The first edition of this exhibition was made up of a series of works accompanied by phrases challenging art and its so-called artists, recalls Sacha Cahuzac, alias Ouch, who cites a few examples of comments from Internet users: “People display themselves really “anything”, “And it calls itself an artist! “Is it street art?” “. Many believed it was a huge joke. That’s what I liked: all these questions about the nonsense of art engendering confusion”.
a provocateur
This provocative artist, decidedly delighted with this first attempt, does not know how to say it so well, since, on the eve of the second exhibition, social networks are panicking: “Graffiti is not tolerated in Toulouse and this pseudo-artist will put up his stupid posters on the Quai de la Daurade. Let me explain. And what is more, in collaboration with the Town Hall of Toulouse”.
A new insolence
This time, Ouch did not choose cliché phrases but a succession of ten 2m x 2m QR codes placed on the wall, facing the river. A “first” in the world of art. By scanning each QR code, we then come across intriguing works and messages. “It’s the mystery of the QR code, says Ouch, who refuses to say more. This barcode is very representative of the time, we saw it with the health pass. A kind of common thread in a society that is going digital and that does not allow any access to culture without a cell phone”. A new insolence of course for this 24-year-old artist, fed to the world of comics, who has been drawing since childhood: “I was rather gifted but so lazy that the slightest constraint always scared me away. Besides, I specialized in lethargic art, that is to say”, he declares, casting a keen eye on our society. I do not make art to sell but to make people react. Today, art is multiple. Why not accept this expression which is no less artistic than others? “. Ouch boldly asserts that his art is for dummies: “They too have the right to question the definition and limits of art”. What is certain is that the art version Ouch loosens tongues, thus respecting its initial role. That alone is worth the trip.