Emoticons

The emoticons are the most widely used international language symbolising emotions. It first appeared when typewritten texts largely expanded and then with the era of mobile phones and of live chat on the Internet. These icons are being used here within the language of monochrome paintings. The emoticon has been turned into a palpable object. This hyperbolic manner of showing emoticons intends to stimulate the audience to reflect on our daily-mediated relationship to each other, whether it is in a superficial or profound way. The emoticons are sort of emptied out symbols. Their primordial iconicity fades away as we use them in a daily basis. One could say that the more we use an emoticon the less it actually represents our emotional state. It’s, however, not always the case, the emoticons do still carry a profound power of self-reflectivity. Displayed within the traditional white cube, the Emoticons series doesn’t leave indifferent. They continuously inspire a reaction. Whether the viewers smile or not, they are caught in a ceaseless play on signs and signification since the emoticon exists at this strange edge between pure abstraction and representation.