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

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

Iraq war - Blair & Bush

The Blair and Bush coalition was a relationship that took the UK to the Iraq war under questionable pretences, to which creative dissent thrived.

Following 9/11 in 2001 the US took military action in Afghanistan in October. September 2002, the UK publish a dossier on the threat that Iraq poses claiming that Sudam Hussain is in control of weapons of mass destruction that could be used within 45 minutes. Questions about the motive of the war around the oil reserves in Iraq continue to be a question to protesters in UK and US.

"Iraq remains a destabilising influence to... the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East” - US Vice President Dick Cheney

Thousands marched in cities around the country, including New York City, to protest the war in Iraq, available. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/iraq-war-protest-gallery-1.18871

David Gentleman, an illustrator and artist who developed the campaign against the war, it became the iconic poster seen in protests throughout the UK. The posters (below), contain bold black typography and blood splatters against a stark white background. 

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2003.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2003.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2006.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2006.

Below is an installation by Gentleman placed next to the Houses of Parliament in Parliment Square, it contains 1,000 paper cards with 100 splatters of blood on each to represent the 100,000 British lives lost in Iraq. A devesting statistic that is visually shown to show the scale of death. In my opinion, the blood splatters can represent a protest by those lost service men and women, questioning those in power on the legitimacy of the war.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, Installation in Parliament Square, Stop the War, 2008.

Gentleman's blood splatter visualises the death and destruction the war was doing especially bringing the bloodshed back to the UK. The UK's society were forced to question political connections to the war because if the use of poster and protest placards. They also protested against the coalition between Blair and Bush creating large-scale hysteria and anger by the public, this eventually lead to the iraq war inquiry.

References 

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

Graphic Agitation 2

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/iraq-war-protest-gallery-1.18871?pmSlide=1.18968

https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2011/dec/13/stop-the-war-a-graphic-history-in-pictures

https://www.creativereview.co.uk/history-anti-war-protest/?nocache=true&login_errors%5B0%5D=invalidcombo&_lsnonce=e5cff56e51&rememberme=1

http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/Banksy/Banksy_Wrong_war_Bridge.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36702957

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/mar/20/iraq-war-oil-resources-energy-peak-scarcity-economy

Croatian War of Independence & Propaganda

The Croatian War of Independence was between 1991-95, Croatia were fighting against the Yugoslav regime and for the independence of the Croatian state. The conflict is said to have been 'well documented' showing the horrifying war crimes including ethnic cleansing, massacres and tortures. However, it is reported that 70 journalists were killed over the 5 year period of fighting, allegedly deliberately targetted. Photojournalism seems to be less pivotal comparing to the Vietnam War, for example, maybe this is due to how dangerous the conditions were for reporters. Below are two photographs by Jean-Claude Coutausse. These photographs were extremely powerful because of how close he managed to get to live conflict, this shows just how terrified the subjects were illustrating to the rest of the world the problem and the need to UN interference.

CROATIA, OSIJEK. Croatian women under a bombing attack from the Yugoslav federal army in September 1991. Jean-Claude Coutausse.

CROATIA, OSIJEK. Croatian militiaman on the front line in September 1991. Jean-Claude Coutausse.

Reinstatement of the red and white checkerboard into the flag, which was previously banned by Yugoslavia, became a large feature in the propaganda showing a clear divide between forces. In1991 Zagreb Arts Fund created an exhibition, 'For the defence and renewal of Croatia', containing and calling for all creatives to develop propaganda posters to show the disturbance to the bloodshed of the conflict. 

VUKOVAR & KRV-ATSKA! / Logo & poster. The town of Vukovar in exile. By Boris Ljubicic. 1991.

Amalgamation of the words; Hrvatska in Croatian 'containing within it', Krv meaning 'blood'. This captures the anger and the disruption that the war is having on the population. The play on words makes it propaganda that engages the viewer and the use of blood shows the loss of Croats as it is bright red, the same as the checkerboard pattern.

Read Between The Lines. Poster/ Broadsheet. Boris Ljubicic. 1994.

The poster/ broadsheet illustrating the actual details of the Battle of Vukovar an award-winning piece of graphic design. Again bringing up the concept of, how artists and designers alike can alter the censorship of information by governments and the military.

Documenta Croatica. S Henningsman & M Tudor. 1991-2. Croatian History Museum.

Above, charity campaigns printed in two sets of colour; red to show the devastation to the people, green to show destruction to the environment.

Last summer I spent a month travelling around Croatia, the signs and war still ever present, especially in places such as Dubrovnik. Bold graffiti of the checkerboard pattern is across the country showing the pride in being its own entity.

References

Graphic Agitation 2- Liz McQuiston. Chapter 3 Perceptions of War.

http://www.e-ir.info/2007/12/22/framing-the-war-in-croatia-propaganda-ideology-and-the-british-press/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4997380.stm

http://www.graphis.com/entry/435a1d42-bc94-11e2-b739-f23c91dffdec/