Isolate Apartheid, Sanctions Now
Dublin Core
Title
Isolate Apartheid, Sanctions Now
Subject
Chicago Anti-Apartheid
Description
This is a black crew neck sweater from the British organization called ‘Anti Apartheid’, promoting solidarity in the movement to boycott South Africa. In the center of the sweater, black and white people have joined together, signifying their unity in the face of apartheid, showing that they have power when working together. Each person wears one letter, and together they spell out the words “isolate apartheid”, Underneath them, in the lower middle, it says "sanctions now". At the time when the sweater was made in the 80s, the movement to boycott South Africa was in full swing, with many important public figures world wide calling for others to join in and show support for those affected and hurt by the apartheid system in place in South Africa. It was made with ink on a press—silkscreened was sold to raise funds for the anti-Apartheid movement and build awareness of their aim.
This sweater exists within a larger historical context and engages with the viewer, by acknowledging the power people have to make change when they are a part of a larger whole. The meaning that is encoded in its message gets recontextulazed and decoded differently depending on the space it gets brought into and the framework of knowledge whomever is perceiving it holds. In Apartheid’s artistic legacy Juliet Highet quotes Willie Bester, saying “I was angry .. so I used my work as a tool against apartheid… my art was a chance to be heard”. This sweater is a way to have a voice and be heard, and is also different from other mediums and forms of protest art in the wide range of places it can go and be seen, helping make it a great example of how art can be uniquely used as a tool against apartheid and other injustices.
This sweater exists within a larger historical context and engages with the viewer, by acknowledging the power people have to make change when they are a part of a larger whole. The meaning that is encoded in its message gets recontextulazed and decoded differently depending on the space it gets brought into and the framework of knowledge whomever is perceiving it holds. In Apartheid’s artistic legacy Juliet Highet quotes Willie Bester, saying “I was angry .. so I used my work as a tool against apartheid… my art was a chance to be heard”. This sweater is a way to have a voice and be heard, and is also different from other mediums and forms of protest art in the wide range of places it can go and be seen, helping make it a great example of how art can be uniquely used as a tool against apartheid and other injustices.
Creator
Columbia College Chicago Students
Source
Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement Collection, College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago
Publisher
College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago
Date
[no text]
Contributor
[no text]
Rights
"The oral histories are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. “ All rights remain with the creators
Relation
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Format
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Language
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Type
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Identifier
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Coverage
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Files
Collection
Citation
Columbia College Chicago Students, “Isolate Apartheid, Sanctions Now,” Protest Art, accessed May 15, 2024, https://protest.omeka.net/items/show/25.