Thirsty

Completed in 2019, the work "Thirsty" was created by Vancouver-based anonymous street artist iHeart as a last-minute addition to the Vancouver Mural Festival. The mural is executed as a stencil work.

iHeart is known for using simple, immediately recognisable images to comment on social and digital phenomena. Earlier works also addressed likes, attention and the influence of social media. In an interview with Daily Hive, the artist describes his work as social commentary whose impact can change depending on whether it is encountered online or in the public space.

In "Thirsty", iHeart turns these themes into an intentionally exaggerated scene: the child is simultaneously the photographer and the subject being photographed. Hashtags and blue verification marks, reminiscent of social-media interfaces, reinforce the connection to the digital world. The mural thus makes the pursuit of visibility itself the subject of the work.