"For me it is so exciting to be doing something outside of my career in music and exploring the other love in my life” – art, Cook told Lusa, admitting that this is the first exhibition that he has ever curated.

It showcases works by 12 artists and collectives, some created specially for the show, along with items from the collection of smileys - the stylised representation of a smiling humanoid face, consisting of a yellow circle with eyes and smile in black – that Norman Cook started 30 years ago.

"The idea is to promote the work of Harvey Ball [the US artist] and the name Harvey Ball and I collaborate with artists and challenge them to do something around the 'smiley' or Harvey Ball," Cook explained.

Of the artists and collectives whose works are being shown – Andrea Harz, Bob Jaroc, Carrie Reichardt, Chemical X, Studio Pedrita, James Joyce, Jimmy Cauty, Joseph Ford, Mark Vessey, Ron English, RYCA and The London Police – several are friends of Cook’s, while others are known to him because they use the smiley in their work. With others, such as Portuguese studio Pedrita, the DJ is "just a fan".

Of those who often use smileys in their work, Cook asked them to "go farther"; of others, such as the British collective The London Police and Pedrita, he suggested they make a portrait of Harvey Ball – in the case of Pedrita, because they found that "making a smiley with the tiles would not work and I knew that they do very good portraits."

"I'm literally childlike in my enthusiasm," he said.

The DJ’s opportunity to curating an art exhibition for the first time arose through his "friendship and collaboration with Vhils" – Portugal’s best-known urban artist. The show, he said, is "a kind of fusion, crossover, between musical career and love for Art".

"Vhils only asked me if I wanted to make an exhibition and I thought about what I could get together,” Cook said. “The smiley is something that is very important to me, in my life, and through music and art it has been a constant in my life.”

The gallery is showcasing a "small part" of the collection that the DJ started in 1989, at a time when "the acid house fashion had passed and everybody gave what they had with smileys."

‘Smile High Club’ runs to 27 July and admission is free.

Underdogs is a cultural platform founded by Pauline Foessel and Vhils (real name Alexandre Farto), which promotes public art – including murals around Lisbon – indoors exhibitions (at Rua Fernando Palha 56) and in the production of original artistic editions.