In a year dominated by the ins and outs of a global pandemic (pangolins, 5G, Dominic Cummings’ eyesight, government-mandated-no-missionary positions, and so on and so forth), it’s pretty easy to forget that all the other Big News items haven’t conveniently sidled off behind flimsy blue masks and resolved themselves.
Yup, we’re sorry to say that things like climate crisis, racism, sexism, fake news, “surveillance capitalism” et al remain rife in lockdown; and a new exhibition of contemporary letterpress protest posters looks to gently remind us that these things aren’t just going to sidle away if we ignore them.
The exhibition, titled Reverting to Type 2020, is held by east London-based letterpress printing studio New North Press and curated by its cofounder Graham Bignell along with Richard Ardagh, who’s been a partner at the studio since 2012. The show marks 10 years since the studio’s Reverting to Type exhibition of contemporary letterpress practitioners from 20 presses worldwide that aimed to “showcase how the centuries-old craft of letterpress is being reinvented by progressive practitioners.”
This new show takes something of a sharper angle: according to the studio, all the works exhibited have “something to say.” It adds that the exhibition will be “a visual riot, giving voice to all that is worth protesting in 2020.”
Alongside discussing (in fact, protesting) the thorny issues previously mentioned, a few posters naturally touch on Covid-19, but the focus is broader here and seems to look more as much at the medium as the message and drive home the power of big, blocky, beautifully grainy letterforms to raise awareness, persuade, celebrate and warn.
The work of more than 100 letterpress artists from 16 countries will be on show in the exhibition which takes place both physically (from 4 December – 31 January 2021 at the Standpoint Gallery in Hoxton, east London) and online.
Alongside the expected letterpress big guns like Alan Kitching, Erik Spiekermann and Anthony Burrill; posters have also been created by comedian, Fall fan and callback king Stewart Lee and Extinction Rebellion Art Group. Among the other less-expected contributors are photomontage artist Peter Kennard, graphic designer Malcolm Garrett (he of The Buzzcocks’ Orgasm Addict cover design fame, if anyone needed reminding), Turner Prize-nominee Mark Titchner and fashion designer Katharine Hamnett, who fittingly made her name with those 80s block-lettered slogan t-shirt designs.
The work is certainly impressive and does what it purports to do—protest—but with a show that suggests that it, like its artists, is railing against structural inequalities such as racism and sexism, it’s a bit of a shame to see the lineup dominated by white men. We’ve nothing at all against these white men, but in the name of putting its curation where its cause is, to clumsily paraphrase the cliche about “money” and “mouths”, it’s a little disappointing not to see slightly more effort in uncovering non-white, non-male artists.
A saving grace in that respect is found in the fact that New North Press is also showing works created by “asylum-seekers, adults with learning disabilities and young people with downgraded exam results,” who were invited to make posters at the studio.
“Letterpress has long been a medium of dissent,” says New North Press. “Printing technology may have surpassed it in terms of speed but at the core of this centuries-old practice the ingredients to communicate ideas and give power to thoughts remains strong.”
The exhibition will open with a virtual live-stream on 3 December. Visitor opening times will be determined once the lockdown exit plan has been announced.
- Autobahn - November 26, 2021
- Alphabetical - November 12, 2021
- SOFA Universe - November 8, 2021
