‘People you may know' is a series of charcoal and acrylic portraits on square canvases where fictional characters from the iconic webcomic universe called ‘rage comics’ replace the faces. Fabricated Google search predictions lay atop the drawings that recount mundane questions that the drawn subjects may or may not have searched.

‘Rage Comics’ were a form of cartoon strips from the early 2010s, often created on simple softwares such as Microsoft Paint. These cartoons gradually evolved into one of the earliest forms of memes, becoming globally popular and accepted because they illustrated relatable, ordinary experiences that caused feelings of angst, grief, shock, frustration, and contempt. In a different format, Google search predictions also hint at regional or global concerns, apprehensions, and sentiments felt by a collective group at that time.

Having an interest in the internet/digital culture, I seek inspiration for my work from the lens of my cellular phone. I am increasingly noticing the evolution of memes as interactive trauma diaries – perhaps as a reflection of the precarious times, we are currently living in led by the advancing climate crisis, ongoing global conflicts, and economic recession. These memes are rooted in absurdism and humorize collective experiences of grief, trauma, anxiety, and outrage as coping strategies. They make light of uncertainty while providing comfort through knowing that these feelings are collectively shared. I applied that approach of humour and absurdity in the orchestrated Google search predictions that I opine behave similarly by letting us know that we are not the only ones concerned with a particular thought.