Sculpture by Francisco Duarte Coelho

Rosetta_Emoji.stone is a post-contemporary artifact that reimagines the ancient Rosetta Stone through the lens of digital culture. Laser-engraved onto a 28 × 52 cm slab of fossil-rich limestone—nature’s hard drive—this piece juxtaposes permanence with the fleeting language of our time. Above the phrase “write it on the stone”, three engraved emojis act as contemporary hieroglyphs. Together, they form a tri-script message for the present age, just as the original Rosetta Stone bridged languages across empires. This work challenges us to consider what is worth preserving, and whether symbols born of screens can carry meaning through centuries. Is the emoji our universal language? Can an ancient material carry the burden of a digital truth?