I d Rather Be Happy Than Dignified Online

Magnus Gjoen’s evocative work treads a fascinating line between humour and horror. By offering a modern take on old masterpieces, and transforming items typically associated with violence into delicate works of art, Gjoen challenges our preconceived notions of beauty. His work combines Street Art, Pop Art and Fine Art sensibilities, and highlights humanity’s capacity for creating immense beauty one minute, and mass destruction the next.

I’d Rather Be Happy Than Dignified depicts a woman from high society posing in her finest attire. The woman has been defaced suggesting the real and flawed human beneath the polished façade. The piece is a comment on modern life’s obsession with portraying a perfect life over actual reality.