Sophie Vanhomwegen

BTFL FREAK differentiates itself from my other series of artworks. For people who knew my earlier work, it seems almost as if another artist created it. This shift is a conscious revolt against a rule often pushed upon artist in art school: to stick to one signature style. This academic molding serves the market because of it's predictability that is easily sellable As an artist, I feel the need to adopt different casquettes, changing roles, aesthetics, and masks as my process demand. 

The title BTFL FREAK is also a direct metaphor for 'the artist' as a character. Society often views 'the artist' as crazy: charactirised as someone who holds strange ideas and lives in the margins of society.

Every artwork in this series shares the same background imgage as a base: a flat, mass-produced emoji. At first glance, the series seems to depict joy. But upon closer inspection, the smiley’s gaze invites us to look behind its appearance. Each piece carries a deep affect. They hide underneath a subtle brush stroke or layer of paint. Some versions look fine, radiating a gaze of excitement and pure joy. Others incarnate a desolated or tormented state, calling for our empathy. In some pieces, the painted surface is visibly wearing away.

For me, this series acts like a metaphor for the erosion of the self. They represent an attempt to let go of the constant need for validation. Yet, letting go of the ego is as much of a utopia as the pursuit of happiness itself.  As Leo Tolstoy once wrote, "Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story." It is not the experience of happiness, but the relentless pursuit of it that makes us miserable. 

Consciously and unconsciously, we are all hiding behind masks. But do those masks really fit us? A mask can be used as a shield to protect our vulnerabilities, when in fact, it is only by sharing those vulnerabilities that we truly connect with each other. 

One day, someone proclaimed this series to be gimmicky, differentiating it from my previous work. Gimmicks are traditionally criticized for their superficiality, their lack of content, and their attention-seeking nature. Ultimately, that reaction proved to be accurate. My intention is precisely to question the obvious in a subtle way. Somethimes we need to be a little more attentive to details in order to see what is hiding behind it's surface. And after all, we are all projecting onto each other. So, yes please, let's call it a gimmick ;).