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In the exhi­bi­ti­on 🙁 seven inter­na­tio­nal artists trace the histo­ry of the (sad) smi­ley, a facial expres­si­on in gra­phic form. Artworks will be on dis­play which deal with the influ­en­cing and eli­ci­ting of emo­ti­ons, and the role of emo­ti­ons for the sub­ject in socie­ty. The pie­ces the­re­fo­re fluc­tua­te bet­ween ecsta­sy and depres­si­on, and fol­low the smi­ley on its jour­ney through socie­ty.

Created as a type of moti­va­ti­on but­ton for workers, the smi­ley later beca­me a sym­bol of the rave move­ment. Today, as an emo­ji, it is an inte­gral part of digi­tal com­mu­ni­ca­ti­on and invi­tes the user to redu­ce com­plex emo­ti­ons to a selec­tion of sym­bols. Emotions thus beco­me machi­ne-read­a­ble, eco­no­mi­c­al­ly explo­ita­ble and more easi­ly uti­li­sed by poli­tics. They are alpha­be­ti­sed, orde­red, flat­te­ned.

The works in the exhi­bi­ti­on reflect the image of a socie­ty tee­te­ring on the brink of exhaus­ti­on and whe­re emo­ti­on appears as some­thing pro­du­ced and ali­enated from the self. Within the digi­ta­li­sed, depres­sed, phar­maceu­ti­cal­ly-tun­ed bodies that can be seen in the exhi­bi­ti­on, love seems col­der then death. And yet the artists still find space for resis­tance.

The exhi­bi­ti­on will take place wit­hin the frame­work of D21’s annu­al the­me, ‘Emotional States’, whe­re we pose the ques­ti­on: How does art influ­ence, trans­form, affect or streng­t­hen emo­ti­ons, and which role do they play for the sub­ject in socie­ty?