YouNs
Inaya
2022

About the Item

Yoni Lallouche, alias YouNs (b. 1984) is a Franco-Israeli artist who grew up in the suburbs of Paris, and currently based in metropolitan Paris and Tel Aviv. YouNs aspires to connect the two different worlds in our lives. While at first glance, his works are like any other paintings on canvas. However, soon it becomes clear that his pieces are truly multifaceted and complex. His newest and highly interactive series, QontRast, merging traditional portraiture, and digital art, explores the endless possibilities of virtual reality. As the audience walks around, the work shifts its form, as it uses lenticular art. First, a portrait, then a QR code appears and disappears, almost like an illusion. The 2-dimensional work comes alive right in front of you. The QR code then acts as a gate to another layer of the artwork, the digital. Viewers are invited into the world that fits in the palm of their hands. QR codes are seen everywhere nowadays. Especially since the pandemic, where the development of the digital world accelerated. Restaurant menus come in a QR code format, business cards are in QR codes, and many more. During the time when everything had to be online and contactless, YouNs started thinking about the idea of connecting our physical world to the online world. In 2022, YouNs launched his new series QontRast, which embodies the core zeitgeist of our time. While the series celebrates the digital world, there is something special about seeing them in person. As the public gets closer and interacts with the artworks on canvas, they can see it shifting in colours and shapes, from faces to QR codes, almost reminding us of the transitional stage that we are in at the moment. The dual nature of the pieces reminds us of Janus the god with two faces, one looking into the future, and another looking into the past. As the title of the series QontRast implies, there is a play with the contrast between two ideas. Traditional portraits and digital art, physical and abstract, tangible and intangible, and real and virtual. The works act as a bridge between the two opposing concepts, bringing us and the art world one step towards the future. YouNs also explores the idea of having multiple personas. As of 2023, most people have social media with carefully curated online presence, some even with multiple online personas. The two different images that the works show us, a face and a QR code, is representative of that phenomena. Our society, as the online world gets larger and more intertwined with our everyday life, shares a large portion of ourselves with the digital self. Like what we see in YouNs’s art, there is no hard boundaries in between. The artist himself presents himself with a persona, YouNs, which is different from his given name Yoni Lallouche.

Creator:
YouNs (1984, French)
Creation Year:
2022
Dimensions:
Height: 39.38 in (100 cm)Width: 39.38 in (100 cm)
More Editions & Sizes:
100cm x 100cmPrice: $9,200
Medium:
Canvas,Lenticular
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
2010-
Condition:
Gallery Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1566213329372
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