PRECARIOUS. IDLE. INSIGNIFICANT. INCOMPETENT. ALONE. ISOLATED. CONSTRAINED. TRAPPED. LEFT TO ONE'S OWN DEVICES. LOST. DISORIENTED. VANISHED. IRRELEVANT. DEPRESSED. BROKEN. GLOOMY. DISHEARTENED. FOGGED. NUMBED.
The works in the series "The World as Meme, Humans as Emojis" were created during a time of personal crisis.
Beyond the pandemic and its associated measures and dangers, my emotional state was particularly affected by images from global crisis zones and the immense suffering they depicted. The news focused almost exclusively on war, the resulting plight of the displaced and refugees, and the nuclear threat stemming from the Russian invasion. There were also media reports on climate disasters, the pandemic (especially images of deserted streets and squares), and the rising number of femicides.
These constant waves of grim news, combined with an already present depressive mood, led to a creative block characterized by apathy and a lack of motivation. Although I deeply felt the need to engage creatively, I was unable even to set up my work tools—largely due to the absence of a proper studio or workspace.
Despite these adversities, both internal and external, I devised a way to engage in artistic creation. I sought free photographic material online that symbolized the crises mentioned above. Into these photographs, I inserted emojis that represent my feelings of helplessness, grief, and a strange sense of "two-dimensionality" that had haunted me for weeks.
The works aim to describe the insignificance of the individual. Moreover, they serve as a metaphor for the increasing desensitization of society, which, overwhelmed by the sheer flood of images, is no longer able to comprehend the content of these images or the suffering and existential threats they convey to humanity.
2021