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Glittering Emojis Replace Censored Bieber Sculpture at Indianapolis Airport

Tré Reising's emoji-inspired piece rises from the ashes of a censored wall sculpture that spelled "#Belieb."

Tré Reising, Live, Love, Laugh Until You Cry. Image courtesy of the artist via

Giant glitter emojis—because if words say too much, how else can an artist communicate?

Back in February, Indianapolis-born, Brooklyn-based artist Tré Reising had an artwork removed from the Indianapolis International Airport#Belieb, a glitter-covered wall sculpture that spelled out the Justin Bieber-related hashtag was designed by Reising to "become an Instagram-framed–ready piece that would fit well into the cropping of Instagram and become traded and shared as a meme.” It was nixed after officials at the Indianapolis Airport Authority’s art program found the work potentially offensive "in light of the popster’s well-documented legal troubles," according to the Indianapolis Monthly.

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Tré Reising, #Belieb. Image courtesy of the artist via

In the same pop culture-meets-pop art vein, however, a new, emoji-inspired artwork by Reising has risen from #Belieb's ashesLive, Love, Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry, a wall sculpture featuring glittery versions of the yellow faces for "smiling face with sunglasses," "face with tears of joy," "face with stuck-out tongue and winking eye," and "smiling face with heart-shaped eyes," in that order.

Tré Reising, Live, Love, Laugh Until You Cry. Image courtesy of the artist via

“Emoji icons have been introduced into our digital vernacular and everyone understands what they mean. […] Since emojis only exist digitally and in small scale, by giving them a large physical presence Reising invites the viewer to photograph and share these real-world icons the same way one would the digital versions,” explains Reising's artist statement on the piece. Whether visitors to the Indianapolis International Airport will Instagram Live, Love, Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry, to the same levels they would have for #Belieb, however, remains to be determined.

Tré Reising, Live, Love, Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry. Image via

Check out Tré Reising's website to learn more about the artist behind Live, Love, Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry. 

H/t Indianapolis Monthly

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