Just a few weeks back, there was a story circulating around Reddit users painting… other Reddit users…holding pictures of… each other.
It was like some bizarre art version of Inception but it was excellent.
I thought that would be my favourite art-related article for a while but I think it may have already been usurped.
By this masterpiece.
Let me introduce you to Russian artist Olga Vishnevsky – who goes by the nickname ‘Pepelangelo’.
For the past 2 years, ‘Pepelangelo’ has been painting Pepe the Frog, the internet’s favourite meme, in ways I never thought possible.
The little green critter originally appeared in a comic before getting picked up on platforms such as Myspace for meme-ification. For some reason, he was adopted by a controversial alt-right movement sometime in 2016 but his legend lives on.
Now Pepelangelo wants to change his image; to her, the character “is not a symbol of hate, but a symbol of peace, love and solidarity.”
She portrays Pepe in a number of glorious – and hilarious – ways on her Instagram page (@pepelangelo) and I really feel like you need to see them all.
Enjoy, internet folk.
Absolutely brilliant.
This is what the internet was made for.
If you want one of Olga’s masterpieces – which you do – you can purchase one on Etsy where they cost $15-$3,500.
Bargain.
Images via Instagram/@pepelangelo/Olga Vishnevsky
