The symposium What Looks Good Today: The Legacy of Michel Majerus, held in November 2022 at the Auditorium of the MUDAM – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg, focused on the relevance and influence of artist Michel Majerus’ work on the artistic practices and reflections of a new generation of artists, researchers, and curators. The day, punctuated by lectures and performances by Cory Arcangel (artist), Karen Archey (curator at the Stedelijk in Amsterdam), Motoko Ishibashi (artist), Ingrid Luquet-Gad (art critic), Fabian Schöneich (director of the CCA in Berlin), and Sarah Johanna Theueur (curator at Haus de Kunst in Munich), was enriched by a discussion revolving around painting and its relationship with digital tools and cultures, as seen through the perspectives of several key figures in contemporary art in Europe.

Following the symposium, in March 2023, the students participated in a workshop at ÉSAL Metz, where they offered a critical and unique interpretation of Michel Majerus’s universe by generating a virtual artist with the help of artificial intelligence: Miel Juscharme. She embodies the blend of all the workshop participants and serves as a critical figure highlighting the absence of women in Michel Majerus’s world, ultimately lending her name to an inclusive collective exhibition.

Text by Farah Khelil

The exhibition I said: How do you feed your second life » explores our « second life—the one we live and present on social networks and online platforms—drawing inspiration from video games, computer-assisted production, and social networks, all of which echo the colorful universe of artist Miel Juscharme. By employing playful and striking references, Miel Juscharme denounces the growing importance of our virtual existence over our real lives.

The artworks on display allude to the way we create and present our online identities, often as an idealized and embellished version of ourselves. Vivid colors and geometric shapes evoke digital editing and illustration tools, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, while nods to video games emphasize how we can project ourselves into virtual worlds and adopt avatars.

At the same time, Miel Juscharme raises important questions about how our online lives impact our real-world existence. How do they affect our self-perception, our relationships with others, and our ability to communicate and interact with the physical world? Miel Juscharme invites the public to reflect on these issues and to explore their own connections between their virtual and actual lives.

Text by Priscilla Ali