By: William Jones
Artist Peyote works at the intersection of traditional sculpture and internet culture, translating viral meme imagery into physical artworks that seek to reflect aspects of the visual language of the digital age. With a background in bronze sculpture, his work explores how memes have increasingly become one of the widely recognized forms of global communication. In this conversation, Peyote discusses meme art, cultural expression online, and the role of artists in shaping how we understand our time.
Q1: Can you share a bit about your background and how you started working with meme language in your art?
My name is Peyote, and I have a background in traditional sculpture, with a focus on bronze material. For years, I have been studying form and mainly working within the three-dimensional art space. But over time, I realized that some of the imagery influencing contemporary culture may not always come primarily from traditional museum spaces. Today, many widely circulated images are those that are being shared on the internet.
These images are memes that have spread rapidly across online platforms, becoming a notable part of internet culture in the digital age. They can contribute to a sense of belonging and are sometimes used in discussions related to activism.
I believe memes are an emerging visual movement of the 21st century because they represent a language many people use to express themselves online. Meme art may be comparable in some ways to historical visual storytelling traditions, sharing ideas and perspectives at a scale that has become increasingly possible through digital networks.
So, I shifted my focus and began painting as well as sculpting memes, using bronze to give physical form to what I see as elements of the collective digital subconscious.
Q2: How do you see meme art fitting into the broader contemporary art world right now?
Meme art may not exist outside the contemporary art world. Instead, it can be viewed as a reflection of how culture increasingly develops online. Much of this visual expression circulates through digital spaces rather than traditional galleries.
If there’s one language that can often communicate complex messages and ideas in a simplified visual format while reaching wide audiences, it is memes. A single image may convey humor, critique, identity, or commentary on global events, often in ways that audiences can understand quickly.
Memes also circulate across geographic and cultural boundaries, making meme art a relatively accessible and participatory form of expression that many people can engage with. Individuals, companies, and public figures sometimes participate in this shared visual language.
In contrast to historical art movements, which were often shaped by smaller groups, meme culture often involves large online communities interacting in real time. It has also started to influence elements of the traditional art world, with museum installations referencing viral memes, auction houses experimenting with digital meme-related works, and artists incorporating internet vernacular into their practices.
Q3: You’ve installed meme-based works in places like Bethlehem and Gaza. What drew you to place work there, and what was the experience like? What stood out to you?
Memes are often seen as a shared global language that can move across borders and cultures. Installing my work in Bethlehem and Gaza was about highlighting that even in regions experiencing conflict, people may still participate in the same interconnected digital culture as many others around the world.
I am not from Gaza. I was just visiting my love, and what I experienced was that art can sometimes create unexpected moments of connection.
It also felt meaningful to anchor the idea of collective experience, which meme culture represents, in the physical realm, especially in places that have frequently been portrayed through limited narratives in global media. The experience was personally humbling. It was interesting to see how recognizable meme imagery could be and how people appeared to respond to it quickly.
This reinforced my belief that memes can function as a shared visual reference point, and in environments where narratives are heavily debated, a meme may sometimes communicate emotion or perspective in a more immediate way.
Q4: In times of conflict, what do you think about the role of artists? Would you describe your own work as an activist in any way?
Artists have often played a visible role during periods of conflict. Through their work, they sometimes capture emotional responses to events in ways that can resonate with audiences. In that sense, artists may help translate shared human experiences.
Artists not only document events. They also interpret them. Historical examples often referenced in discussions about art and conflict include photographs such as “Napalm Girl,” Goya’s depiction of Spanish civilians executed by Napoleon’s troops, and the painting ‘Liberty Leading the People.’ These works are frequently cited as pieces that influenced how later generations viewed war and injustice.
I would not label my work overtly political or describe myself as a traditional activist. However, I do see my work as participating in broader cultural conversations, and I hope it creates space for reflection through imagery that many people already recognize.
Q5: When people encounter your work, whether in those settings or online, what do you hope they take away from it?
Recognition, for sure, that spark of “I know this image.” Beyond that, I hope it can encourage a shift in perspective, suggesting that something that may appear fleeting, disposable, or purely digital can also be translated into physical form with a sense of permanence.
I would like people to see meme culture not only as entertainment but also as a reflection of how humans are developing new visual languages online.
Ideally, I hope people enjoy my work and feel some level of connection to it, as well as to others participating in the shared process of shaping digital culture in real time.
