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Meme culture has been corrupted, monetised as another means of commercial persuasion.

Meme culture has been corrupted, monetised as another means of commercial persuasion.

Internet memes have become a new commercial language, one that taps into a generational reservoir of serial references. This piece follows the evolution of that language, visualising a future where 2020s internet culture is chic, and memes have transcended meta-irony as a serious aesthetic.

In 2054 the 2020s re-emerge in a photoshoot. In a performance that recalls insta shitposting and deep, late-night r/TIHI dives, a brand is sold. Every aspect of the shoot makes a deliberate invocation. The face covered in cream, the resolution of the photos, the state of the shirt. All to sell a product.

But this material use debases the freedom that defines meme culture, monetising a space defined by anonymised community-generation, unlicensed redistribution, and freedom of access. A space already being appropriated in our modern day.