Viral internet memes are more relevant than most paintings or sculptures today, and now they’re getting the recognition they deserve
It’s impossible to not come across memes if you use the internet. Facilitated by online platforms like Instagram and Twitter, ideal for today’s attention-deficit society, these humourous images with minimal annotations have become nothing short of crucial cultural artefacts. And so, they are getting their own biennial: the Biennial 4 Memes: the Memennial.
According to the organiser—known only by the social media handle @jalapen0.pap1—memes have the power to challenge the status quo and make people reflect on their realities from a different standpoint. On the Memennial website, an excerpt from Aria Dean’s essay Poor Meme Rich Meme reads:
The meme moves so quickly and unpredictably as to establish a state(lessness), a lack of fixity that might be able to confront our simultaneous desire for visibility and awareness of the violence it brings. It sustains an appearance of individuality (“it me”) while being wholly individuated (“same”).
The inaugural Memennial is happening in Seattle, Dallas and online throughout this month with the aim exhibit the evolution of memes. Visit biennial4memes.com to learn more.