In Keep Smiling, Daniah Alsaleh grapples with the ubiquity and symbolic power of emojis, the modern-day hieroglyphics, transforming the visual language of our digital communication into a realm of artistic exploration. This exploration takes the form of a series of artworks that integrate the ephemeral, digital representations of emotions with the physical and tactile realm of traditional painting, stimulating a multi-faceted dialogue around this pervasive linguistic phenomenon. The works delves into the intricate interplay between the banality and significance of emojis, their socio-political implications, and their influence on our everyday communication. Alsaleh translates this abstract curiosity into a tangible exploration of visual semiotics, drawing attention to the implications of emojis as markers of emotional articulation. They invite us to consider questions around authenticity, linguistic laziness, cross-cultural complexity, and the accuracy of emotional representation through this visual shorthand.

 Featuring an ensemble of nine video works created through StyleGAN2, the digital algorithmic technique fuses human facial expressions with their emoji counterparts, thereby visualizing the overlap between our emotive states and their distilled, digital manifestations. By transferring these digitally crafted faces onto canvas, she critiques our reliance on these simplistic, caricatured expressions in representing complex human emotions. Further deepening her artistic investigation, Alsaleh's unique video work explores the intersection between actual hand gestures and their corresponding hand emojis. This juxtaposition underscores the peculiar mix of abstraction and specificity that characterizes emoji language.

The exploration of emoji culture ponders the philosophical implications of an increasingly universal form of visual language. She acknowledges the inherent challenge for an artist to create unique expressions from such widely diffused visuals, confronting the paradox of using a medium that, by design, is meant to be universally understood. Ultimately, this exhibition invites us to contemplate our obligation to express emotions digitally, especially the societal pressure to present a positive outlook. It asks us to consider the space between private emotion and public presentation, transforming the familiar, everyday language of emojis into a strikingly original exploration of contemporary visual culture.