In icons, Alissa Dymally Williams and Noelle Whitaker decipher a palimpsest of subconscious generational knowledge through independent and collaborative practice. Employing internet fodder in the form of memes and composite images to scratch at the collective subconscious.

Cultural evolution theory defines memes as the basic unit of cultural evolution, representing information that spreads through imitation from mind to mind; essentially, the non-biological information passed from generation to generation. Interested in the impact this has on the subconscious, Williams and Whitaker turn to dreamscapes and digital landscapes to analyze shared psychological states. The artists search for common threads and turning points in shared psychology while maintaining a Jungian understanding of the personal unconscious, collective unconscious, and ego in relation to symbolism. Each category referring to both the “icons” produced in mass-represented media and one’s independent digital footprint.

To begin this work, one must understand memetics and memory as mutable lines ingested and processed through a Rolodex of understood emotional and visual landmarks. An unrelenting digging is required to process such symbolism at a collective scale. The works of Williams and Whitaker mirror this exploration in both the function of their works and through the exploration of image as material. Representation of image by way of both projected and transferred, Williams and Whitaker explore the bounds of our collective interpretation of artifact and artifice. Creating visual chaos through layers, movement, and application, the importance of texture resonates throughout. Themes of ego, vulnerability, and escape recur throughout the works, emerging and receding through humor and sentimentality, as they aim to represent the psychological state of a generation inundated with information, trying to make sense of it, and seeing themselves reflected in much of it.

A two-person basement activation at Actualize Space

Actualize Space: 500 Pike St. Sea, Wa

Actualize Space: 500 Pike St. Sea, Wa

Opening Reception: May 23rd, 2025

5-8 pm

Closing Reception:

July 25th, 2025

5-8 pm

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