Yemen War

The Yemen war between the Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia backed Hadi government forces has raged for over 3 years and is a very controversial subject regarding UK government involvement. The UK currently has arms deals to Saudi Arabia, worth £4.6bn since 2015. The Saudi government, who back the Hadi government forces in Yemen, are using arms against innocent civilians. Air strikes and drone strikes have been misused and have subsequently taken thousands of lives.

Donald Trump confirmed a new arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth £8.9bn on 20/3/18 which risks more war crimes in Yemen and potentially more civilian casualties.

Below is a protest by amnesty international from 2016. The drone is labelled ‘made in Britain, ruining lives in Yemen’ a protest highlighting the involvement of the UK in the Yemen War. This protest was successful as it created attention and awareness around the issue which extended beyond the houses of parliament into the houses of the public. By choosing the media of paper mache and its weak strength it juxtaposes the death and destruction the real mass destruction weapon can cause.

An Amnesty International campaigner holds a model of a missile in protest at British arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Amnesty International, No to Drones Protest, Outside the Houses of Parliment,
alamystock.com, 2016.

This issue became the focus of my practical work where I created four posters exploring consequences of this war. A running theme in the work is the lack of media coverage, reflected in the title ‘3 years unreported’. I created the designs to resemble movie posters to attract more attention than the usual charity poster. The ‘credits’ are facts about the war and the Saudi arms deals.

3 Years Unreported, Cholera Outbreak, James Kiely, 2017.

3 Years Unreported, No Access to Food, James Kiely, 2017.

3 Years Unreported, No Access to Education, James Kiely, 2017.

3 Years Unreported, Refugees, James Kiely, 2017.

References

Playing with Words While Yemen Burns: Managing Criticism of UK Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Source: Global Policy [1758-5880] Stavrianakis, Anna yr:2017 vol:8 iss:4 pg:563 -568

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/928303/Saudi-Arabia-Prince-Mohammed-bin-Salman-UK-visit-protests

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/424980-yemen-saudi-strike-media/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jun/28/from-destruction-to-cholera-yemen-war-brings-disas/#/0

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/event/amnesty-protest-against-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-611726507#amnesty-international-activists-march-with-homemade-replica-missiles-picture-id516312958

Technology Challenging the Appearance of Dissent

Journalists and protestors have been recording their experience in rallies and protests since the invention of cameras. The development of camera phones and their widespread availability has meant this footage has become commonplace, with photographs and videos online and in the dominant media documenting peoples experiences. The quality of this footage is and its legitimacy is often questioned due to the off the cuff nature of the recording. Usually, the footage is filmed in a frantic crowd. According to Fred Dalmasso, this allows the dominant media outlets to manipulate the footage and to capture typical faces of dissent and aggression.

Below is an example of a 'typical' media response to a protester, the man is captured in the defiant action of throwing a smoke bomb, attempting to make the mob appearance more dangerous than the police.

Protesters and the police clashed Friday in Istanbul. Demonstrations began Tuesday over plans to redevelop a park in Taksim Square that is the last significant green space in the centre of the city. Credit-Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Here, however, is a photo that was featured in the same article, civilians running away tear gas surrounding them, a more empathetic response to the civilians.

Protesters waded through tear gas on Friday at Taksim Square in Istanbul. Credit Tolga Bozoglu/European Pressphoto Agency.

Hiwa K's work 'This Lemon Tastes of Apple' shows his perspective from the protests, tear gas surrounding him and members of his family. The title refers to the smell of the gas and how the locals use lemon juice to combat the effects. The video is very powerful, the pain of the protesters being swarmed by tear gas is shown effectively. In my opinion, this shows the danger of the police or the military and protests against they're harsh and dangerous actions. The video is part of an installation (shown below) the sound is very loud and immerses the viewer in the footage.

Hiwa K's. This Lemon Tastes of Apple. Installation. 2011.

Videos from the kettles are effective in showing the carnage and the intense feeling of danger, footage like this are now easily circled through social media channels this allows more freedom of speech. It also shows the acts of terror from the police or militia who are meant to be there to protect society.

To conclude, technology is changing the way people perceive protests personal approaches including mobile phone footage aids people in the kettle, giving them protection to a certain degree. However, media outlets will always be able to edit anything put in the public domain. The attitude of the dominant media outlets needs to change, people need to understand their agendas and political connections along with commercial gain.

References

Remote Spectating, Drone images and the Spectacular Image of revolt- Fred Dalmasso.

Art and Politics Now - Anthony Downey

https://www.artrabbit.com/events/hiwa-k-this-lemon-tastes-of-apple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgmGxKvGFWU

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/world/europe/police-attack-protesters-in-istanbuls-taksim-square.html