Rebellion
Day of Solidarity with the Afro-American People - August 18, 1969
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL (the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America). Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. They also criticised the foreign policy of the U.S.A. and supported the Black Power movement.
Content warning: weaponry
Untitled, 1969
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL (the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America). Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. Alfredo Rostgaard’s poster depicts Jesus Christ carrying a rifle on his back. On the reverse of the poster is a quote from Camilo Torres, a Roman Catholic priest and guerrilla who fought with the revolutionary Colombian National Liberation Army. Torres combined his religious faith with Marxist politics and believed that “If Jesus were alive today, he would be a guerrillero”.
Content warning: weaponry
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Tony Drayton), 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”. This portrait is of Tony Drayton, founder of Kill Your Pet Puppy and punk fanzine Ripped And Torn.
Untitled, 1974
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL (the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America). Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South.
SOLIDARITY WITH THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE - AUGUST 18, 1968, 1968
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. They were also connected to the Black Panther Party, a political organisation based in Oakland, California. Designer Emory Douglas was “glad to see” his illustrations for the Black Panther Party’s newspaper repurposed by OSPAAAL. Douglas’ image reflects the party’s line on carrying arms: “we believe we can end police brutality... by organising black self-defence groups that are dedicated to defending our black community from racist police oppression and brutality.”
Content warning: weaponry
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Angie), 1984
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”. This portrait is of Tony Drayton, founder of Kill Your Pet Puppy and punk fanzine Ripped And Torn.
