An Instagram project that previously brought the likes of Andy Warhol and Yayoi Kusama into the contemporary realm of emojis has brought out a full set of FridaMojis – inspired by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Kahlo created 55 self-portraits in her lifetime, so why not take inspiration from her soul-baring works to bring her art into the digital age.

“Frida was just perfect for the project,” Sam Cantor, of the LA-based Canter Fine Art gallery and designer of the Fridamoji told Artsy. “She conveyed her emotions so honestly and openly in her work. What better artist to translate into emoji, which we use to express emotion today?” 

Cantor said that when he created the first Instagram project, he took suggestons from the public: this led him to immortalise Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vincent Van Gogh and more in emoji form. He said that his Kahlo creation was “the most successful”.

The gallerist engaged with the Frida Kahlo Corporation to keep the vision informed and true to the artist. What was important, he related, was creating images that go beyond identifying Kahlo by her unibrow and floral headwear. Cantor travelled to Mexico City to study some of her paintings in real life, including Las Dos Fridas (1939), her double portrait created after her relationship ended with Diego Rivera. “The intensity of the emotions on their faces, and how many ways they could be read or stretched to tell different stories, really struck me,” he said. “That was a turning point.”

Of the 400 emojis made, 160 were chosen. These include one based on Kahlo dressed as a man with her hair cut in Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940) and Self-Portrait with Monkeys (1943).

FridaMoji is now available on the App Store. Check out a small selection below.