Julia Marchand's 'I Am The F****** Subject' Reframes Adolescence as Cultural Condition

Curator Julia Marchand has published 'I Am The F****** Subject: Art and Adolescence' with Lenz Press, a culmination of her decade-long research project Extramentale. The book argues that adolescence is not a biological stage but a cultural condition and artistic posture that persists beyond traditional age boundaries. Marchand, formerly a curator at Fondation Vincent van Gogh in Arles (2015-2023), now based in Venice, curated the Georgian national pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. The volume includes essays by Julie Ackermann, Giulia Mariachiara Galiano, and Anya Harrison, along with interviews conducted by Marchand, Cecilia Larese, and Vittoria Morpurgo. The book launch events are scheduled for June 24 at Ordet in Milan (conversation with Arianna Caserta) and June 25 at Studio Venezia in Venice (with Giulia Mariachiara Galiano, Alexandra Deem, Luca Frati, and Julia Marchand). Marchand co-founded the experimental video game festival Octobre Numérique – Faire Monde in France and has worked with artists such as Saradibiza and Anhar Salem. The book's graphic design by Lorenzo Mason Studio features purple and star motifs. Marchand states she moved to Venice to 'kill' Extramentale, seeking a new direction working more directly with young artists.