I was one of 100 artists shortlisted for the 'Freedom of Movement' poster design competition created by Poster for Tomorrow. My design focused on a satire take of classic British ignorance in the midst of thoughtless conversation. Realistically, I wanted to show that thoughtless comments have a huge impact and when you read something like this, you immediately see what's wrong - most of the time, these type of comments do not translate in verbal conversations and being able to portray such a current problem within society and show that within design is really profound.
Brief: "In last year’s brief we talked about “a world where boundaries are becoming less and less meaningful. Now more than ever, we are one people. No matter where we live, we are all equally powerless in the face of war or environmental disaster.”
We still believe this, but sadly electorates in the Western World since then have voted to close borders and build walls to keep foreigners out. A violent rhetoric of hatred and fear is being constructed around people forced to flee their homes because of events beyond their control. In the face of war, repression or political oppression, these people do what we all would do: go elsewhere in search of safety. Yet instead of being welcomed, they are forced to wait in refugee camps or simply turned away. The ones who make it through are often physically and verbally abused for having the temerity to come ‘here’. This is impossible to condone on grounds of security, democracy or anything else.
We still believe this, but sadly electorates in the Western World since then have voted to close borders and build walls to keep foreigners out. A violent rhetoric of hatred and fear is being constructed around people forced to flee their homes because of events beyond their control. In the face of war, repression or political oppression, these people do what we all would do: go elsewhere in search of safety. Yet instead of being welcomed, they are forced to wait in refugee camps or simply turned away. The ones who make it through are often physically and verbally abused for having the temerity to come ‘here’. This is impossible to condone on grounds of security, democracy or anything else.
...
On its website, Amnesty International declares: “History will judge us by how we tackled the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. This is our moment to defend the things that unite us as human beings, and refuse to let fear and prejudice win.”
It’s true. We must not let this moment pass. Since the very first issue of Poster for Tomorrow we have said that we are stronger together. Now it’s time to raise awareness of this human right: the freedom to move to a new country in search of a safer place to live.
Message: People of different nationalities bring colour, variety and life to the world. If we put close borders and build walls to keep ‘them’ out, we will only descend into darkness."
On its website, Amnesty International declares: “History will judge us by how we tackled the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. This is our moment to defend the things that unite us as human beings, and refuse to let fear and prejudice win.”
It’s true. We must not let this moment pass. Since the very first issue of Poster for Tomorrow we have said that we are stronger together. Now it’s time to raise awareness of this human right: the freedom to move to a new country in search of a safer place to live.
Message: People of different nationalities bring colour, variety and life to the world. If we put close borders and build walls to keep ‘them’ out, we will only descend into darkness."
