Social satire

Social satire

London – Artist Cory Arcangel’s latest exhibition Currentmood satirises the visual language of social media.

FN Slides / Lakes 2016 by Cory Arcangel at Lisson Gallery, UK FN Slides / Lakes 2016 by Cory Arcangel at Lisson Gallery, UK
Russell's #3 / Lakes 2016 by Cory Arcangel at Lisson Gallery, UK Russell's #3 / Lakes 2016 by Cory Arcangel at Lisson Gallery, UK
Ibiza / Lakes 2016 by Cory Arcangel at Lisson Gallery, UK Ibiza / Lakes 2016 by Cory Arcangel at Lisson Gallery, UK

London – Artist Cory Arcangel’s latest exhibition Currentmood satirises the visual language of social media.

  • The show includes media from a broad range of sources, from low-resolution screen shots to scans of Ibiza flyers
  • Arcangel’s work will also be disseminated as promoted content in advertising spots across the internet

Arcangel’s practice is based around using art as a means of critically investigating web culture and internet language. The exhibition, at London’s Lisson Gallery, was inspired by the American artist’s habit of using social media to document his own browsing habits using the hashtag #currentmood. The show includes media drawn from an esoteric range of sources, including scans of Ibiza flyers, default Photoshop image effects, commercial and mobile phone photography and low-resolution screen shots. It also features emulations and reprints of earlier works by the artist.

The exhibition also exists online thanks to an accompanying advertising campaign that will be dispersed across the internet as promoted content. Arcangel’s decision to display the same works in real life in a gallery context and universally disseminated as clickbait is part of his continuing exploration of open-source culture democratiastion through technology.

What this means for your brand

Memes have a serious side, too. As the visual language of social media becomes more pervasive, artists such as Cory Arcangel and Ian Cheng are using its tropes as a means for critical investigations of contemporary culture. See our Gen Viz macrotrend for more.

Discover More Daily Signals
Channel 4 captures the raw energy of women’s football in new campaign

Daily Signals

Channel 4 captures the raw energy of women’s football in new campaign

Channel 4 has launched Pure Football, a mixed media campaign celebrating its coverage of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, placing authenticity and fan cul...
Marketing : Channel 4 : Womens Sport
What Remedy Place’s NAD+ pen reveals about the future of longevity treatments

Daily Signals

What Remedy Place’s NAD+ pen reveals about the future of longevity treatments

Social wellness club Remedy Place is bringing clinical wellness into the home with a new NAD+ Smart Pen, developed in partnership with UK-based NAD...
Wellness : Longevity : Health
Stat: How happiness is reshaping policymaking priorities

Daily Signals

Stat: How happiness is reshaping policymaking priorities

The 2026 World Happiness Report reinforces wellbeing as a critical measure of progress, drawing on nationally representative data from ne...
Social Media : Gen Z : Statistic
Huggies puts its product claims to the ultimate stress test

Daily Signals

Huggies puts its product claims to the ultimate stress test

Nappy brand Huggies’ latest campaign, Expensive Sh*t’, sees 18 babies wearing Huggies Little Snugglers on luxury goods worth £373,000 ($500,000, €4...
Advertising : Humour : Parenting
What Zara’s archival strategy signals for the future of high street retail

Daily Signals

What Zara’s archival strategy signals for the future of high street retail

Fashion retailer Zara is repositioning itself between mass market and luxury with a two-year partnership with acclaimed fashion designer John Galli...
Retail : Fashion : Design
Stat: Parents sound alarm as children’s digital identities form too early

Daily Signals

Stat: Parents sound alarm as children’s digital identities form too early

A new survey from Proton reveals that concern about children’s online privacy has become the norm, not the exception, as digital identities are for...
Online Safety : Parenting : Statistic
How WMH&I is uniting land and people through design

Daily Signals

How WMH&I is uniting land and people through design

Environmental charity Natural Habitat has unveiled a new identity by WMH&I, designed to reconnect communities with land through emotionally res...
Sustainability : Design : Branding
Foresight Friday: Savannah Scott, creative director

Daily Signals

Foresight Friday: Savannah Scott, creative director

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, our creative director Sav...
Foresight Friday : SXSW : Creativity
Stat: Gen Z turns to social for food inspiration as video dominates media habits

Daily Signals

Stat: Gen Z turns to social for food inspiration as video dominates media habits

Gen Z’s media habits are evolving rapidly, with video platforms and social feeds reshaping how young audiences consume content – and what influence...
Drinks : Social Media : Inspiration
SXSW 2026: How can brands move on the pulse of culture? 

Daily Signals

SXSW 2026: How can brands move on the pulse of culture? 

On day three of SXSW 2026, the conversation turned to one of the biggest buzzwords in modern marketing: community.
Global Events : SXSW : Marketing
You have 2 free Daily Signals remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN