Devoir d'empathie, 2011-2013, Wood, glass, papers, vinyl, charcoal, and watercolor.
396 x 1097 cm
Laurentians Museum of Contemporary Art
Metadata
- titles
- Devoir d'empathie
- dates
- 2013 –
- technique
- Dessin au fusain et aquarelle
- material
- Fusain et aquarelle sur papier
- rights
- ©Eric Ladouceur
Devoir d’empathie (Duty of empathy) is a study focused on memes, a form of vernacular visual language popularized by social media. Close to the culture of emoticons, these illustrations propose a new linguistic synthesis expressing ambiguous emotions. Inspired by R. Dawkins’ theories of memetics, I attempt, through mimicry and the reinterpretation of photographic self-portraits in drawing and watercolor, to reclaim these idiomatic codes. Unfolding as a large-scale periodic table, the installation draws from scientific culture the expression of a desire to organize sensory experience.
