The Emoji Drawings and GIFs Project
was developed between 2019 and 2022, three years when these images had especially potent meaning, some more than others. The drawings are made from photographs and are meant to look like photographs because believing an image is a photograph changes one’s understanding of that image. Each drawing also includes “comments” in the area around the drawing of the hand. These comments are meant to be seen as the marginalized art of graffiti instead of the more recognized sphere of real art represented by drawings or the respected realm of academic publishing. The GIF that accompanies each drawing is made about the same emoji image, but demonstrates the multiple meanings of each image. Seen together, the GIFs and the drawings are meant to be equal parts of a work of art.
