An image that has become known as the ‘Four Lads in Jeans’ meme went viral in 2020. William Douglas and Connor Jordan Humpage The “Four Lads in Jeans” are a group of British men who became a viral meme in 2020. The men were honored with a statue made in their image at a festival in Birmingham in August.
The statue’s artist said he’s faced online mockery from people saying it was a “waste” of money. A British artist who made a statue dedicated to a meme that went viral in 2020 said he’s had to defend himself against critical online commenters who told him they don’t think an “internet joke” can be the basis for legitimate art. William Douglas, 34, spent 57 hours creating the statue, unveiling it on August 27 at the Birmingham Weekender, an arts festival in the West Midlands region of the UK.
As a full-time artist living in the local area, Douglas was given a monetary grant from the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust to build a piece of work that would be displayed for the duration of the two-day event. Douglas told Insider he felt inspired to make his artwork in tribute to a viral meme because he was “obsessed” with it when it first went viral, and since the original image was taken in Birmingham, with the men from the meme hailing from Birmingham and nearby city Coventry, he thought it would be a good way to honor the local area and local people. A post shared by Four Lads In Jeans (@fourladsinjeans) The meme originated in 2020 and the four men faced online trolling as a result A post shared by Connor Jordan Humpage (@cj_humps_tattoos) The image, which is known as the “Four Lads in Jeans” meme, originated from an Instagram post by a user named Connor Jordan Humpage in June 2019.
The image showed Humpage and three of his friends, Kevin Rooney, Alex Lacey, and Jamie Phillips, standing outside a bar, with a caption saying, “Tight trousers chose us 😅” According to the website Know Your Meme, the image was then screenshotted and posted to an unspecified Facebook meme page. Insider was unable to locate this post. Over the course of 2020, the image was widely reshared on all social media platforms, with people saying they found it funny because they thought the men resembled stereotypical British “lads.
” Users would typically post the image on Twitter with a caption mocking something they thought a British “lad” might say, with examples including a defense of Winston Churchill or a commentary on British boxers. The image became so viral that in a January 2021 interview with talk show Good Morning Britain the men in the picture said they and their family members had faced relentless mockery from online trolls. —Josh Hill (@Jhill_90) January 16, 2021The unveiling of Douglas’ statue, made from layers of paper mâché placed on top of fashion mannequins, has led to a renewed wave of interest in the men, who were featured on Good Morning Britain again when they went to visit the artwork.
“We’re delighted to have our very own statue in Birmingham. From a night out to now being immortalized in paper mâché is an incredible story. We’re honored,” the men wrote in a statement to Insider.
The artist behind the statue said he’s also received online mockery for his creationA behind-the-scenes look at Douglas making the statue. William Douglas. Douglas told Insider he was pleased with his statue when it was unveiled at the festival, but said he received a mixed response from online commenters when images of his artwork were shared by him and national British news outlets on social media.
Some commenters implied that they did not think the finished statue was worth the grant Douglas received, while others criticized the statue’s appearance. “I hope it didn’t cost any money? I would ask for a refund if it did,” one comment with 44 likes under a Facebook post of the statue by news outlet BirminghamLive said, with other comments under the same post saying, “What a waste of money it looks hideous,” and, “What an eyesore, the biggest piece of junk I have ever seen!!” Douglas told Insider he was disheartened by some of these comments, which he felt suggested that many people did not see the value of using a meme as inspiration for a piece of art. Douglas doesn’t feel that way — he said he feels memes can inspire art and that the images that form memes can even be seen as works of art in themselves.
“There’s a correlation between memes and artworks. Playing around with images and sharing them creates a conversation, just like people are able to have a conversation while looking at a piece of art,” he told Insider. Douglas posing with his statue.
William DouglasBy using a well-known meme to create a statue, Douglas said he wanted to create art that would be relatable and recognizable to anyone who has seen the meme. “I thought taking something which is based off an internet joke and making it into a piece of art would make for something that people can easily share. I wanted to make something more accessible, instead of something sitting in a gallery or exhibition, bringing it to the public out on the street,” he said.
“Some people are telling me their three-year-old granddaughter could have made something better, but I’m glad it’s doing what I wanted it to do by creating discussion and conversation, which is the main point of art,” he added. For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider’s Digital Culture team here. Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/artist-interview-mockery-viral-four-lads-jeans-meme-statue-2022-9
