Artists focus on social concerns at Blitz

The introduction of emojis 20 years ago has definitely changed the way we communicate. Our language has become interspersed with these pictorial signs that are joyful and ambiguous at the same time.

An exhibition, currently on at Blitz in Valletta, is inspired by this phenomenon and takes its title from an emoji that was named Word of the Year by Oxford University Press in 2015. Named Face with Tears of Joy, this emoji was the first pictorial sign to receive this honour.
“Through emojis, the threshold between adulthood and childhood has become very thin. We continuously use them in conversation. There is little distinction between professional and family conversations nowadays; texts have become increasingly informal,” curator Sara Adolfi Agostini said.
Emojis, together with gifs, memes, social media and video games have seeped into our lives and this is inevitably reflected in contemporary artworks.
“Artists are affected by our daily behaviour. Communication and globalisation have become two main areas of research in contemporary art,” Ms Adolfi Agostini said.
The exhibition brings together nine international artists, most of whom have exhibited in major exhibitions and...