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

Palestine Poster Project

The Palestine poster project documents the propaganda and creative dissent from 1965 to 2000 it is one of the largest libraries of its type. The role of the poster is one of the most important media types of 'dissent', over recent history, it has been the most popular form of publicising opinion and demonstrating change.

Jornada de Solidaridad, Faustino Perez, 1968.

The conflict in 1965 involved the extremist group known as Fatah, a militant group of Palestinian nationals. The poster attempts to stereotype this group with the usual wear of a Palestinian Nationalist, however clever use of replacing the eye with the barrel of a gun. The barrel is illustrated in red giving connotations of death and destruction. Day of solidarity to of Palestine is the title of the poster a UN day of remembrance for people who have died during the Palestine wars.

Visit Palestine, Franz Krausz, 1936.

Visit Palestine, Amer Shomali, 2009.

Visit Palestine, Des affiches pour Gaza, 2014.

David Tartakover's response reimagines the first poster that was initially used to generate more tourism in Palestine during the late 1930's. The poster reappropriates the landscape by adding militants, explosion clouds and the 'separation barrier'. What I would call a lighter-hearted attempt to generate a serious response by the viewer. I say 'light-hearted' due to the reappropriation of the initial poster, an area looking so positive becoming somewhere so contradictory. The poster is almost a crude representation of the conflict and the area.

Gaza Love, Kyle Goen, 2014.

A very well known symbol again reimaging a western icon. Initially titled 'love' to 'Gaza' this was made in the USA to generate a military response, it was used throughout many protests. Its iconic appearance makes it stronger as it alternates the familiar and therefore evokes a strong response.

Gaza Pinwheels, Mohammed Hassona, (Palestine), 2014.

Part of the Project Pinwheel memorial project the poster above attempts to raise awareness and remember the 521 children killed during the operation protective edge. The dark poster depicts the falling shells and the innocents of the children below that were lost in the conflict.


The 50-year difference between the first and last poster shows the prominence of the poster in Gaza, and the change it can promote. A very different selection of graphic art created to cause a change. However, with 50 years of conflict and 1,600 recorded posters does this show the little impact posters can make, the situation in Gaza is as volatile as ever and I wonder how many more posters it could take to make the constructive change needed to establish peace?

References

Visual Impact, Creative dissent in the 21st century, Liz McQuiston.

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/07/bombers-blood-posters/

https://im7mad.wordpress.com/

http://www.palestineposterproject.org/content/about-the-palestine-poster-project-archives-0

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20415675

https://www.afsc.org/resource/gaza-pinwheel-project

Craftivism and War

Craftivism is the concept of marrying craft and activism together usually referred to as a 'quiet' form of activism. Using textile, most often, to create political or social statements. Today I shall examine the role craftivism has in war and conflict.

During the first and second World Wars crafting was used in multiple ways. The first was as a therapeutic tool to calm soldiers with shell shock a form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

During the second world, war activism established itself. Major Alexis Casdagli, was held in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, after six months he began to produce a cross stitch pattern on a piece of canvas. The dotted message around the edge border deciphers God Save the King and Fuck Hitler. This tapestry was then hung in the camp where he was imprisoned, the code was never deciphered. A quiet protest that only the prisoners would have understood, attempting to raise morale and keep pushing without getting themselves killed.

Major Alexis Casdagli, Cross Stitch on Canvas, 1941.

Contemporary craftivism contributions to anti-war protests depict very different scenes. Rugs created in Pakistan and Iraq have contained images from assault rifles to military drones. particularly Pakistan rugs had seen a large increase is drone patterns due to the on-going US military drone program.

"According to an October 2014 update from the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Pakistan by drone strikes over the past ten years, around one-fifth of them children."

Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown.

Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown.

Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown.

“One of the older local weavers, now in her 80s, told me that the reason for weaving drones on carpets by women here is to show to the West that their brutal killing machines are always under our feet" - https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-19/their-brutal-killing-machines-are-always-under-our-feet-pakistans-war-rug-weavers

The importance of the creation of these rugs, I believe, is the dominance of conflict in these peoples lives. This could be all they’ve ever known of their country, constant war, the quiet protest of creating these rugs are the way to publicise to the rest of the world. Although in recent history the creation of these rugs has been questioned with more and more copies of the rugs being made for sale in the US, prices range from hundreds of dollars to several thousand. Art collectors believe these rugs are being made to gain a profit and are growing into a tradeable commodity.

References

http://craftivism.com/blog/category/anti-war/

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/gallery/2015/feb/03/drones-ak-47s-and-grenades-afghan-war-rugs

https://www.warrug.com/

http://www.colorsmagazine.com/blog/article/drones-on-rugs

Sarajevo and The Trio Design Group

The graphic design group 'Trio' was founded in Bosnia's capital city Sarajevo in1985, producing work throughout Bosnia and the surrounding countries in a collaborative effort. The Trio group became an established design agency doing corporate work across Europe, as the Bosnia war broke out in 1992 the design group became trapped in Bosnia, within their personal practice they begun to campaign against the Seige of Sarajevo by the Serbian Military.

'War Studio' Photograph of The Trio, Bojan and Dalida Hadzihalilovic, Bosnia 1993. Scanned from Graphic Agitation, Liz McQuinston.

By using western cultural icons, the group reinterpreted adverts and symbols into ironic and dark humoured posters and postcards. The use of computers with very early versions of sketch and adobe photoshop enabled the manipulation of advertising campaigns and logos. A recurring theme throughout the work is the 1984 winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, referring ironically to the lack of international intervention and the need for dominance by the UN. Postcards were used because of the ease of transportation with the intention of sending them around the world to publicise the disaster. The works gained the Trio international recognition and became the face of the war. 

'Enjoy Sara-jevo' postcard, The Trio, during the Bosnia War 1993/94. Scanned from Graphic Agitation, Liz McQuinston.

Selection of postcards produced by The Trio, reworking cultural icons. Designed between 1993/94. Scanned from Graphic Agitation, Liz McQuinston.

Selection of postcards produced by The Trio, reworking cultural icons. Designed between 1993/94. Scanned from Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuinston.

Disunited Nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia 1993. Scanned from Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuinston.

Post Office, Trio, Bosnia 1993.

The relationship between graphic art and the political warfare in Sarajevo enabled the worldwide attention the war deserved. This evoked a greater, more appropriate, response from the United Nations in August 1995 as Nato launched airstrikes against the Serbian military. Graphic arts acted as the enabler, attempting to re-focus international intervention by using culturally relevant advertisements and specific western brands to stir a response from those in power.

The Trio group later developed in the internationally renowned design studio Fabrika working with some of the largest brands across the globe such as BMW and BIENNALE.

References

Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuinston, 2004.

http://bosniavolimte.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/trio-sarajevo-surrealism-art-at-its.html

http://www.fabrika.com/

https://backspace.com/notes/search.php?q=bosnia&n=0&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17617775