OUGD601 Practical Research (Brandalism)

RESEARCH

Brandalism:

'Brandalism is an international street art collective that subverts advertising in urban space. We mobilise artists around the world to take creative action against ads as together we imagine a world beyond consumerism. Why advertising? Alongside corporate lobbying, it is one arm of multinational corporate power fuelling the distractive and destructive forces of consumerism. With nothing more than high-vis jackets, special keys, and shared creative principles we create the world’s largest ad takeovers. We exist to agitate, educate, and facilitate those who want to reclaim public space from corporate control.'

(http://brandalism.ch/)

Brandalism was founded July 2012 in London, twenty-six British artists ran a "subvertising" campaign, whereby they covered billboard adverts in five English cities with art pieces.

Artist - Eyesaw (UK) installed in Central Bristol

Artist - Bill Posters, Birmingham

Artist - Leo Murray (UK), West London

Artist - Robert Montgomerry, in Bristol

Artist - Ron English in Bristol

Artist - Shift Delete, Bristol

This billboard campaign is the world's first international collaborative 'subvertising' project. 

Brandalism hopes to tackle issues such as:
- Body image
- Consumerism
- Debt
- Environment
- Cultural values

Manifesto:

This fight, waged in all places,
on all networks and circuits of communication
is the responsibility of all who believe another world is possible.

This is our battle-cry, our semiotic war,
our rage against consumer mis-philosophy,
and the machines of predatory corporatism,
that block out the sun
burn our atmosphere

We steal this space (from capitalism)
and we give it back to you for free
for the communication of possible futures

So imagine, if you will, another world
Emptied of mad empires,
Manufactured fears,
Paranoid dreams
and marauded lands.

Now imagine the sounds of those memories
crushing in your hands.

Instead of the facile dreams of consumer products and
the shadow festival
of fake-estate lifestyle choice,
pacifying with wealth those who remember
we are people, not targets
smart-drugging the next generation of revolutionary minds.

It might be time to listen to the rage inside,
the rage against more of the same
the rage because another world must be possible,
a rage against the atrophy of hope.
A rage against the changing climate, bullshit jobs,
division, fear.

So we subvertise here for hope,
hope that is never too late to start.

Take this space.
Silent rebels, and loud dreamers,
take this space,
young pacifiers and old lovers.

Don’t hide in the shadows, steal their space,
their damaging words and aesthetics.

We take this space back to speak truth to power,
to oppression, to injustice,
against those that would have us give our lives,
our brightest years,
of all that we are and could be
to the serpent of consumption
perpetuating a world we don’t believe in
distracting us from each other in favour of ourselves,
destroying our ability to think and fantasise wildly.

We, who are you, have come to realise that
to dream is the beginning,
all that remains is action,
to reclaim the space to express.