Giovanni
Uche
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Giovanni
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KYA’OFU - Building Propaganda, 2024
Utilising the BCU ADM Archives, we were to develop our second Advanced Practice project. The work is to be exhibited at the end of April, giving myself about 12 weeks, to research, test and develop an idea. The archives were the first hurdle I came across, navigating its contents were tricky as a limited amount of it’s contents could be assessed online and many were still in the process of being catalogued for online searching. This made it necessary to use any workshops or visits we had count.
There was also difficulty in using a preselected collection of ideas and making them your own, there was a lot of beautiful work in the archives but it took me a few visits to find work that I wanted to build on. I came across the London Transport posters, posters from the Jazz archive especially those by Bob Linney , looked through the Black Music Archives and a few of the medallions that they had on file. Subsequent visits led to my discovery of the Empire Marketing board and later the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This gave me clarity in the direction I’d take my project.
I wanted to develop a poster propaganda campaign, exploring how media is manipulated to promote, alter or skew reality, how it can develop a movement and inspire people.
Empire Selling Empire
The EMB was established in Britain in 1926 to promote inter-Empire trade and persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire Goods’. The board commissioned a collection of artists and illustrates to create posters promoting Empire, it’s extended control and it’s influence. The posters and media aimed to boost economic ties among the various territories of the empire by fostering a sense of unity and shared identity. Reading book Buy & Build was a great resource for understanding the EMB
OSPAAAL
OSPAAAL was an organisation that stood for a Tri-continentalist solidarity, utilising film, magazines and posters as a way to share their idea and further foster that solidarity. It was anti-imperialist and recieved a lot of push back from western capitalistic powers in fears of amplifying communist views. I explore a collection of OSPAAAL posters which I found stryiking and very emotive.Day of Solidarity with Puerto Rico/
Sept 23. 1971.
Rafael Enriquez
1981
Day of World Solidarity within the Struggle of the People of South Africa, June 26
Martinez, Olivio
1974
Black Power, Retaliation to Crime: Revolutionary Violence
Rostgard, Alfredo Gonzales
1968
Early sketches, I was exploring propaganda through the religious aspect, utilising symbols such as the Ikenga, the supreme deity Chukwu and oil refineries. Playing and juxtaposing these to create interesting compositions, I wanted to signal a divine right for revolution in my early exploration, or how exploitation and neo-colonialism is killing the Nigerian soul.
Another step to creating my posters
Divided No Longer
I wanted something strong and clear, it’s violent, hard shapes and calls for action in the abstract. It brings up questions like who is dividing us? why were we divided? e.t.c. Strong words and strong emotions.
Inspired by the composition of the OSPAAAL poster, Bold icon placement, clear text and smaller text at the bottom.
Delving further into the design, creating a stronger identity. The first tag line of Divided No Longer, carried an air of negativity to it. I decided to expand into something a lot more active, more positive language that promotes the steps towards a better future. The intrigue of propaganda in some of it’s form is in how vague the wording might be and that’s something I continue to play with within the project.
Building Kya’ofu
To create a solid base for my project, I needed it to not just stand for something but for the works to be created and disseminated by some sort of collective, group or organisation, this is how the idea for Kya’ofu came into being. Kyauta, Ofe, N’efu(these are the words for free in Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo) – altered into Kyofu/ Kya'ofu - This will be the name of the organisation behind the campaigns.
This tactic has altered the way I look at the creation of my work, I am now to embody this fictionalised organisation and ask myself how such an organisation would create and share their ideas, I must consider questions such as what work would a collective of this size produce, and how could they get the word out there? What future are they fighting towards?
I begin leaning away from the religious and leaning towards the cultural, it is difficult to formulate a true pan-Nigerian identity, as every country developed out of colonial power grabs with no care of the many indigenous people residing on the land, struggles with a dual identity of culture and state can attest to, it is still a worthwhile exploration. I look at cultural symbols like our masquarades, our clothing or just the shared pain of it all.
Thumbnail sketches of Kya’ofu posters.
I took these ideas into photoshop to develop them further, I also wanted them to bring in some inspiration I gathered from the archives. This would be the work of graphic designer and artist Bob Linney.
Why the work of Bob Linney as visual inspiration? Well the connotation of propaganda is negative, it brings the idea of revolt, revolution to topple and to change, These Ideas are not far and away from the ideas I wish to share, but in that state their is a look to them, the visuals carrying these ideas tend to be serious as they deal with serious issues.
The style of Bob Linney leans to the jovial, it is colourful and it carries warmth, the figures are loose and free and positive. I find this an interesting avenue and how to instil the ideas I wish to through positive visual language
Examples of Bob Linneys works...
The final design of the posters, I went with 3 as this allowed me to focus on them with the time I had allotted myself before the first exhibition we were to set up. The pieces are heavily inspired by a mix of the anti-imperialist posters from OSPAAAL and Bob Linneys, free flowing work.
KYA’OFU 2024
The final pieces of my project, the 3 posters of my Kya’ofu propaganda campaign against oil exploitation and neo-colonialism. Bright, colourful and vibrant pieces, a different take on a “propaganda” poster. I use lose shapes and bold imagery to communicate, what we as Kya’ofu are fighting against and the future we’re fighting for. The addition of the year was to imply a sense of urgency, ‘it is happening now‘ the revolution is underway.The Practice Exhibition
Hanging the posters. The posters where displayed in the centre of the wall to the right entering the foyer. It had great lighting and the black heater beneath it allowed for a strong contrast that would draw the viewers eyes to the piece. The posters were hung on wires, with weights attached and bulldog clips. Their was a bit of improvising, as we weren't initially sure how to connect the pieces. A short strip of wood had to be cut and attached to the back of the prints to keep them straight.
Final Exhibition
Held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, successfully navigating setup, design, and production challenges. However, I acknowledged shortcomings in marketing and promotion, particularly due to organisational issues and last-minute poster design. Using light and available equipment to enhance the effectiveness of each piece.
The Publication
As part of our submission for this project we were required to develop a publication, explaining or promotion our work. I decided to take a different angle, and write up a manifesto for Kya’ofu, something that was to be publicly disseminated. Drawing from the Black Panthers' 10-point plan, I condensed it to four clear demands, ensuring readability. The publication format was an A3 folded zine, featuring a bold title and succinct summary on the cover, with the manifesto inside. As a class we also designed a folio that would be a holder of all our work and also gave a description of our project.
The zine was printed using a risograph machine, to add colour it required me designing it in a 2 layer format per side. Risographs only print on A3 sized paper, so as a class we othered paper. we did run into some problems as some of the paper we ordered was too heavy, but it was easily remedied as we had different weights and printed less than planned.
Slideshow of the publication