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In times as dim and uncertain as these, one of the most valuable things for one to own is a blossoming imagination. In his latest exhibition entitled MPP, MÊME PAS PEUR, the Italian artist Davide Stucchi unleashes a cloud of fantasy in the Milanese apartment of gallerist Martina Simeti, with a vision that seeks to find the extraordinary in everyday objects.

Grouping works by a loose collective of artists operating between fashion design and contemporary art, Stucchi has curated rooms of seemingly banal scenarios that question the relationship between objects and their owners. His meandering curation breathes life into concepts as intangible as a conversation or as insignificant as a lead pencil — consequently equipping them with thoughts and opinions of their own. Within the lives of each item in the exhibition, the relationship with the owner is severed as they each assume independence as tenants of the apartment: each one taking up space and developing personalities and bonds of their own that recall their previous lives of being worn or used, all the while embodying new intentions.

Glimpses of new existences are seen throughout the show : a pencil and sharpener sits casually on a shelf in the form of an earring created by Parisian accessories brand D’Heygere; ornate bracelets are sun-printed on paper and framed in acrylic by Stucchi himself; cameo necklaces nestle within wildflower blossoms in a work by Beca Lipscombe and Lucy McKenzie’s Atelier E.B, and words from a conversation link to create a necklace in a piece entitled ‘The Form of A Conversation’ by Davide Stucchi and the American designer Susan Cianciolo — a piece which also marks the conception of the exhibit. “During a talk with Susan, I had a vision of a necklace made of our questions and answers, and then things unfolded,” Stucchi explained.

Throughout the exhibition words play a primary role, starting with the title itself —MPP, MÊME PAS PEUR — which translates from the French to ‘not even afraid’. It is a metaphoric reference to the emblematic courage of each object for taking on its new form detached (for the most part) from function and expected use. “Même pas peur is a French expression and as such it’s difficult to translate in other languages. Martina still spoke French almost more spontaneously than Italian when we met, as she had just moved from Paris. To grasp the expression she suggested I should imagine a kid who says it to another, meaning that one could not be bothered… it can be provocative but also useful to protect oneself like yelling: go away!” the artist commented. Throughout the show, Stucchi refers not to children but to the objects in a parallel way, positing them in a world where they are liberate from the hold of their owners.