The Faces We Know and Love

Artist Statement:

Cats can be viewed as a duality between all things good and evil; soft, fluffy, cute but at the same time malicious, violent and deceiving. The popular representation of cats is not new, however the Internet has provided a convenient highway for transmission of cats into our everyday lives. Whether you want it or not; videos, memes and images of cats will probably enter your day at least once if you use the Internet.

Through the Internet, we consume cat videos and memes because they are easy to digest and humourous. Cats can be seen as a commodity through this consumption of images, cat paraphernalia such as a ‘keyboard cat’ t-shirt as well as the related ‘pet commodities’ that pet owners often buy for the promise of increase in comfort, cuteness and/or entertainment while their pet is domesticated such as the ‘Nala Cat Bow’.

In my current body of work, I have been playing with appropriation of internet cat faces used in memes, videos and images, as a sarcastic satire between what is perceived to be high and low culture while also examining both my own and the Internet’s fascination with cats.

Bio:

Megan Stein is a visual artist living and working in Edmonton, Alberta. She recently graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, where she focused her work to printmaking and installation in her senior year. Megan was the recipient of the Emerging Artist residency at SNAP, where her work has become focused around her curiosity with the connection between cats and the Internet. Her work often includes the use of sparkles, bright colours, cats and foxes with satirical implications of consumerism, culture and society related to the animals and materials she uses. Printmaking is a vital part of her artistic practice by means of traditional methods such as relief and silkscreen, as well as the use of stencils and transfers within installations and other non-print centred work. The residency has provided an irreplaceable environment to develop a body of work outside of the University, and she is excited to go forward with everything she has learnt through this experience.