“S. Michele configures Satana, emoji version” 150 x 200 cm, Acrylic on recycled PVC, 2018
In this bold and modern work, the artist revisits the epic confrontation between the Archangel Saint Michael and the devil, blending the sacred and the digital with a touch of irony. Through the use of emoji faces—the angel with a haloed angelic smile, while the demon displays a purple mask with devilish features—the work plays with our iconographic and cultural references. The striking contrast between the solemnity of the scene and the humor of the emojis questions our contemporary way of perceiving good and evil, lightening the cosmic battle into a digital caricature.
The bright colours and geometric background bring a pop and contemporary dimension to this classic interpretation, accentuating the mix of genres. A pixelated cursor arrow introduces another layer of reality, that of our virtual world, and suggests that this divine scene is also subject to the click of a digital spectator.
“S. Michele sconfigge Satana, emoji version” is a provocative and playful work that juxtaposes the eternal and the ephemeral, the sacred and the profane, inviting the viewer to reevaluate the way we consume, share and reinterpret art in the digital age.
