We are used to seeing their faces in everyday life – on social media feeds, television or just walking down the street – but now UK artist Miss Bugs has put their spin on some of the most famous people on the planet.
Miss Bugs, TAYLOR SWIFT: 283 Million (2024) Printed paper cuts and mirrored foil, cast in resin on wood and aluminium. Series of 3 (each a unique likeness) w111 x h152cm
{algorithms} will be Miss Bugs’ largest solo show to date opening at 545 West 23rd Street, New York City. The show presents a series of sculptural portraits of the world’s most famous people – including President Barack Obama, former First Lady Jackie Onassis, Queen Elizabeth II, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé – each of whom has been individually remixed by the ‘visual DJs’.
Miss Bugs, Generated Rapunzel (2024) Acrylic paint and papercuts, cast in resin on wood and aluminium. Series of 3 (each a unique likeness) W101 x h141cm
The vibrantly coloured portraits have been painstakingly constructed from a curated assortment of mass-produced objects – some x-rated – suspended in resin; from pharmaceuticals and Lego minifigures to photographic cuttings of presidents, Hollywood celebrities, cartoon characters and serial killers. These intricate, three-dimensional collages invite the viewer to delve under the hood of popular culture and to dissect the multiple layers of content that assail and sometimes overwhelm modern consumers during our every waking moment.
Miss Bugs Everything in its Right Place (2024) 3500 hand-cast pharmaceutical lollipops with positioning bracket and line. Edition of 1 Sphere: w220 x h220cm
The focal point of the show is Everything in its Right Place, an outstanding 20m³ sculpture incorporating 3,500 resin lollipops, each one studded with pharmaceuticals and meticulously positioned to form a three-dimensional starburst. The piece is a candy shop of brightly coloured capsules and tablets that explores how medicine has been commoditised by consumer culture.
Another highlight is 362 Million vs 13 Million, paired portraits of Queen Elizabeth II (13 million followers) and Kim Kardashian (362 million followers), painstakingly assembled from hundreds of neon resin prisms. The juxtaposition of the two women is intentional: a commercial product of our time, her success measured through ‘likes’, side by side with a product of history and tradition, as far removed from the influence of social networks as it’s possible to be. Which of these women have the algorithms crowned?
What’s the point of being famous for 15 minutes, when the average human attention span has collapsed to eight seconds?
In this breathless, frenzied century we’re living through, politics has become entertainment, while film, music and TV were long ago co-opted by consumer brands, hungry for sales. Art itself is not immune, swept along in the tide of commoditisation that Warhol both prophesied and embraced. Everything in our world is content.
The arbiters of this new system are the algorithms. Faceless curators and custodians that monopolise and monetise, crowning new icons while tearing others down. What are they? Are they created for us, or are they something we collectively create and are subsumed into ourselves?
Miss Bugs
Miss Bugs, Unfollowed in AI Open Water (2024) Acrylic paint, papercuts, surgical blades and optically clear PU resin cast clouds, on wood and aluminium. Series of 3 (each a unique likeness) w151 x h97cm
Miss Bugs, {algorithms}, 5th September – 13th September 2024, 545 West 23rd Street, New York City @miss_bugs
About
Miss Bugs became in 2007, originally coming from a background in photography and graphics. Sometimes referred to as a ‘visual DJ’, Miss Bugs takes iconic imagery from pop culture and art history and remixes it through a variety of mixed media methods. Previously featured in the Saatchi Gallery, the Do No Harm series has already remixed familiar items including ice lollies and hypodermic needles, to raise questions about the influence of technology and the darker side of social media. They have had sell out shows in New York, LA, San Francisco, Paris and London and their artwork is in a number of significant private collections around the world
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