Jul 18, 2023

TTYL ;)

From winky faces to embroidered flowers, I❤️U digs into modern and historical romantic communication

By Khadra Ahmed
an image of Kenzie Housego's Emoji Bot, which features an emoji winking with its tongue hanging out, lit by LED lights. The emoji is surrounded by embroidered flowers and other smaller emojis

 Kenzie Housego, Emoji Bot, 2023. Embroidery, LEDs, Arduino micro-controller, textiles.Courtesy of the Artist. Installation view of Kenzie Housego: I❤U, Art Gallery of Alberta, 2023. Photography by Charles Cousins, courtesy of the Art Gallery of Alberta.

If you’ve been on a dating app, you probably know the importance of choosing the right emoji. A simple winky face can drastically change the direction of a conversation. Decoding someone else’s use of emojis is a whole different battle too: is a yellow or blue heart just friendly or romantic? A new interactive mixed-media exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is digging into not only the subtext behind these small yellow faces but also how signifiers of romantic language have transitioned from embroidered flowers to emojis. 

I❤️U is the newest exhibition from Calgary-based multidisciplinary artist Kenzie Housego, currently on view at the AGA. I❤️U explores the coded language behind flirting and dating by blending technology with embroidery. While modern-day singles decode emojis, this exhibition also revisits the historical and romantic meanings behind flowers and embroidery, combining them with emojis to explore how flirting has transformed over time. 

An image of Kenzie Housego's Send Nudes, which features the phrase "Send Nudes" embroidered onto an embroidery hoop surrounded by lace, LED lights, and hashtags.

Kenzie Housego, Send Nudes, 2021. Embroidery, LEDs, Arduinomicro-controller, textiles. Courtesy of the Artist. Installation view of Kenzie Housego: I❤U, Art Gallery of Alberta, 2023.Photography by Charles Cousins, courtesy of the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Technology is a staple in Housego’s artistic practice —  the works in this exhibition feature Arduino microcontrollers (programmable circuit boards) and LED lights used in various ways such as recreating digital emojis onto embroidery hoops and mimicking the camera flash of mirror selfies. For Housego, who recently completed a Master of Fine Art specializing in new media at the University of Calgary, incorporating technology into her work is symbolic of the digital spaces in which we interact, such as social media and dating sites.     

An image of Kenzie Housego's Selfie Girls, which features embroidered women taking selfies with their phones, the flash lit up by LED lights. The women are embroidered onto a Victorian-era pattern on the embroidery hoop.

 Kenzie Housego, Selfie Girls, 2023. Embroidery, LEDs, Arduino micro-controller, textiles. Courtesy of the Artist. Installation view of Kenzie Housego: I❤U, Art Gallery of Alberta, 2023. Photography by Charles Cousins, courtesy of the Art Gallery of Alberta.

While some works in the exhibition can sense the viewer and react to their presence, other works feature a phone number that viewers can text to. By including interactive elements in her works, Housego hopes to shift viewers from passive observers to co-producers, allowing them to engage with digital media to experience new perspectives and take away their own meanings.

An image of Kenzie Housego's Hot Bot, which features the purple smiling devil emoji surrounded by an array of embroidered flowers and other emojis such as sweat droplets. and eggplants. The emoji is covered in lace and lit up by LED lights.

 Kenzie Housego, Hot Bot, 2023. Embroidery, LEDs, Arduino micro-controller, textiles.Courtesy of the Artist. Installation view of Kenzie Housego: I❤U, Art Gallery of Alberta, 2023. Photography by Charles Cousins, courtesy of the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Visit Housego’s I❤️U, presented in the RBC New Works Gallery at the AGA until October 15, 2023.

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