#indigenizemememoji.2020 New Works by Jevijoe Vitug Online Exhibition Launching August 9

On the event of the International Day of World's Indigenous Peoples, Flux Factory presents #indigenizemememoji.2020, a solo exhibition of paintings by Philippine-born artist Jevijoe Vitug. This exhibition, initially cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be presented on Flux Factory's website.

Combining satirical humor with socio-political and cultural concerns, #indigenizemememoji.2020 reimagines history painting through the lens of memes and emojis, encoded with an indigenous presence. Layering graphics referencing the COVID-19 pandemic and statewide protests against systemic racism, each painting amplifies this historic moment as translated through digital culture.

This new body of work is composed of 13 paintings, in which Vitug continues his painting technique titled "pintados," painterly brushstrokes that have nuances of indigenous mark making. Similar to digital pixel units, these marks become codes to forming imagery invisible at a first glance. Working in oil paint, acrylic, airbrush and water based UV-fluorescent paint overlapping one another, the artist uses a diversity of painting media.

Over the prolonged period of lockdown, Vitug has continued painting in his studio as a coping strategy and to reflect on his experience living in Queens, NY, the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak that has disproportionately impacted immigrants of color. He uses coded humor, layered with straightforward messages and hidden meanings to make visible his pre-colonial/ indigenous heritage, and his continuing quest for decolonization.

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