100 Likes by James Joyce at colette, Paris

‘Like’ has become ubiquitous in recent years thanks to its use as the currency of popularity within social media platforms. In fact, it has become more than just a word; it has become an action, a reward, and an icon of sorts whereby status and ego are bolstered by the number of interactions or ‘Likes’ earned by social media users.  

James Joyce’s Like paintings take a neutral and ambiguous position. They can be read as both a reflection of a vacuous culture defined by a word that has lost its meaning, endlessly and mechanically repeated, or as a celebration of ‘Like’ as a positive expression, transformed from its former passive status by its modern active context. 

The title of the exhibition, ‘100 Likes’, reflects the total number of pieces included in the show, which comprises works arranged in various iterations and number groupings, appearing both as large-scale paintings and silkscreen prints. 

‘100 Likes’ will occupy the gallery and first floor of the store, while other works will be exhibited on the ground floor from the 2nd until the 27th February 2016 – including five artist’s proofs of the sold-out screen-printed edition Joyce created for Banksy’s contemporary art show ‘Dismaland’. These will be on sale exclusively at colette for the duration of the exhibition. Merchandise incorporating selected artwork will also be available in store. 

James Joyce was born in Wolverhampton, England and studied at Walsall College of Art and Kingston University. He lives and works in London using a variety of media that includes painting, drawing, sculpture and screen-printed editions, with the content often subverting recognisable symbolism. That approach was demonstrated by his recent involvement with Banksy’s contemporary art show Dismaland, where Joyce exhibited a large video installation of a rotating and collapsing smiley face titled ‘Perseverance in the Face of Absurdity’. The piece became the signature image for the exhibition. 

colette is a store in Paris, housing cutting-edge fashion, books, and accessories, with its own gallery space hosting past exhibitions by James Franco, Terry Richardson and Kenny Scharf among many, many others.