iHeart is a Vancouver based street artist, who produces stenciled art projecting their own views on social problems in street art; similar to "Banksy". Like "Banksy" the identity of this particular artist remains anonymous.
Part of iHeart's work involves the entanglement of two extreme parts of our lives. The streets in which the work is displayed and the inclusion of modern life, in particularly social media.
iHeart street art downloaded Google.com 21.11.21 (https://www.iheartthestreetart.com/)
The artists work is subtle and maybe holds more relevance to an older viewer like myself who can relate to the artists message through having lived through the birth of social media. The irony of young children almost locked into social media through their physical and mental lifestyle choices demonstrates an absence of empathy with the world around them, unless viewed or recorded via a mobile device. Almost making the child's view narcissistic in nature. There is a theme of the artist views the electronic device user in the images as insular and unaware of the "real life" continuing around them as they create all their human behaviour traits to be graded and staged for their electronically connected audience.
The artist has a very balanced view within their work. A sensitivity and sadness about the move from reality to online life. I love these pieces of thought provoking works, for they are for me, everything art should be. Uncomplicated but thought provoking. Delivering a simple message which opens up a whole "world" of discussion and potential regret. My initial thought from viewing was irony and maybe humour? However the more I view, the more serious the artists message becomes. We are allowing our children to disengage from all aspects of real life. To receive adoration from people they cannot see or meet and by numbers they cannot comprehend, evoking dangers they cannot possibly think about. Really great work.