Icons of Life/ volume 120

Throughout human history, certain people, places, objects, images, symbols, and moments have acquired a meaning that extends far beyond themselves. They become icons—carriers of memory, identity, culture, aspiration, and shared experience.

Yet an icon is never entirely universal. Its meaning changes according to who is looking, remembering, and interpreting it. What is monumental to one person may be intimate to another; what appears ordinary may hold profound personal significance. An icon can be a celebrated figure, a cultural symbol, a familiar object, a beloved place, an everyday ritual, or a fleeting moment that remains with us long after it has passed.

The works gathered in this edition invite us to consider not only what becomes iconic, but why. What do we choose to remember? Which people inspire us? Which objects become connected to our histories? Which places define a sense of belonging? And how do personal memories transform ordinary experiences into symbols of lasting significance?

For some artists, the icon emerges from cultural or collective memory. For others, it is deeply personal—a person, object, landscape, ritual, or experience whose meaning exists within an individual story. Through different media and visual languages, the artists featured here reinterpret these subjects, revealing how their significance can shift across time, place, and perspective.

Art has always played an important role in preserving what matters. A portrait can keep a presence alive; an object can become a vessel for memory; a photograph can transform a passing moment into something enduring; a symbol can carry an entire cultural narrative within a single form. Through artistic interpretation, the familiar can be reconsidered and the overlooked can become extraordinary.

Icons of Life is therefore not simply a collection of recognisable images or celebrated subjects. It is an exploration of value, memory, identity, and the human impulse to preserve what we believe matters.

The artists in this edition remind us that an icon does not necessarily need to be famous to be powerful. Sometimes, the most enduring icons are the ones that exist quietly within our own lives.

We invite you to explore these diverse interpretations and discover the people, places, objects, symbols, and moments that artists have chosen to elevate, remember, and preserve.