Disobedient Objects
Art and design has been used for many different reasons, whether it is symbolic or ritualistic, used to entertain or to portray an idea. Overall, art and design is used to express a concept – expressed by a person or a whole consensus.
‘Disobedient Objects’ shows us how art and design is used to express solidarity during objection against political action. The exhibition displayed pieces; some hastily made, in a reaction to a cause – A cause to protest against something that has upset the balance of society’s idea of morality and ethics.
‘I Wish My Boyfriend Was As Dirty As Your Policies’
‘I Wish My Boyfriend Was As Dirty As You Policies’ Coral Stoakes
A humorous protest poster by Coral Stoakes, names and shames the government policies that have impeded the futures of potential university students. Is it just an amusing message? Yes… at face value, but you soon realise the sarcastic undertones and the mockery used to shame the government.
‘…I thought I would fight fire with fire and sexualise the government’s policies in order to expose how absurd they were.’
Stoakes message was clear that she wanted to provoke a reaction and in some way belittle the government and its policy. Even though many signs and posters were made for this protest, this one is successful at expressing disapproval, by standing out with a simple satirical message.
‘Burmese One Kyat Banknote’
The reaction to Burma’s ruthless dictatorship has been expressed in this hidden watermark. The hidden picture in the Kyat banknote is pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of General Aung San. Astonishing bravery from the artist who rendered this, as any image of Aung San Suu Kyi is forbidden and can result in imprisonment. There is a clear sense of fear of the junta, due to the way the message is represented – in secret – how many are in circulation and what will happen if they are found? The concept of the Burmese population having this hidden image in their notes gives the illusion of solidarity (whether they know not). The junta would have to arrest everyone who had one and that’s just ridiculous – which is what this artist is trying to portray… “your dictatorship is a joke” San Suu Kyi should be a celebrated woman for what she stands for and what she has endured over her lifetime. She fights for the freedom of her people, like how Charlie Hebdo fight for freedom of speech.
'Burmese One Kyat Banknote' Artist Unknown
Conclusion
The ‘reactions’ displayed in the room emitted an energy, which frankly was quite refreshing, since most exhibitions are quite self-absorbed. It has the ability to viewers riled up and inspired, thus able to respect the bravery and commitment these protesters and activist went through. Although this exhibition showed how protest and activist work within the last 30 years, it did not represent how new technology has aided their designs. It could be argued that Twitter is a technology from this era, but its sort of the lazy way. The “hand crafted’ aspect of these pieces give the protest relatability, rather than a hashtag from a random person on their phone. It would be interesting to see more of how protesters and activists were able to utilise this era’s technology in a creative way.
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