Sushisyrup: The Instagram Archive Blending Pop Culture and Art History

Sushisyrup, an Instagram account with over 4,000 followers, functions as a vast visual archive where images from cinema, television, pop culture, and art history are juxtaposed to create ironic and aesthetic connections. The anonymous creator, who describes herself as a "visual fartist," draws inspiration from Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne Atlas and Gerhard Richter's obsessive archival practices. She selects images primarily through Google searches and personal memory, aiming to stimulate viewers by highlighting visual similarities between disparate subjects. The project began on February 15, 2017, with an image of a live chicken in a pot, and has since grown organically as she shares triads of related images. She emphasizes lightness and irony to deconstruct content and encourage a holistic viewing experience. The account blurs the line between art and entertainment, with the creator asserting that the value of an image lies in the viewer's active engagement. She critiques the passive consumption of images in the digital age and expresses skepticism about the use of memes in political or commercial contexts. The interview was conducted by Valerio Veneruso for Artribune.