CAROLINA ALVERCA MARTINS FERNANDES USES DESIGN AS PROTEST w/ ‘IRAN’
Enraged too by increasing global violence against women, Carolina Alverca Martins Fernandes using her communication skills for activist purpose.
As a fundamental part of a DPS year, Carolina Alverca Martins Fernandes was committed to using her communication skills for activist purpose. As designer and author of Maresia , she has designed a magazine which campaigns against marine pollution. Enraged too by increasing global violence against women, she became involved in design activism as a response to the atrocities in Iran.
"Being approached to work with Anonymous Artists for Iran on this project was an honour. I felt it aligned with my intentions of wanting to involve activism and social good into my design practice.”
“It was also an opportunity for me to work on something bigger in theme and in scale to what I usually do in screenprinting. It was a great learning experience, at a collaborative and technical level. It allowed me to learn a lot more about the technique I was using in dealing with the challenges that came with it throughout the process.
“I couldn't have done it without the support of the screenprinting technicians at LCC, who helped me in every step of the way. “
It felt really meaningful to see the project unfolding as the banners got printed. Seeing the first complete banner was quite moving. The dimmension that it has makes you feel really close to the situation and to Mahsa Amini in particular. All of a sudden it becomes something much bigger, that you don't just see on the news or hear about. I believe it makes you realise how important it is to remember people like Mahsa Amini who stood up for her freedom, and carry on fighting for basic human rights.
“Working closely with the collective, I felt this experience only enriched and valued my practice, also opening my eyes to new explorations and routes to follow with meaningful engagement, within protest culture, design, and activism."
“The Action occurred in two cities: in both London and New York. The performative nature of the activism had been carefully planned to synchronise and in both Tate Modern London and the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan were bustling as usual, with tourists and locals winding up and down the building’s iconic attriums. From the top of the buildings, 12 red banners unfurled, spanning the length of several floors.
“Each banner was covered with black stencils depicting Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old who died in the custody of Iran’s “morality police,” who had detained her for not wearing her hijab properly. Alongside the image were the words “Woman, Life, Freedom” in both English and Kurdish, which have become a rallying cry for the young women leading protests over Amini’s death.”
“While the banners made their way down the museum’s halls, onlookers began to cheer and clap, as seen in various videos posted to social media.”
An activist group called the Anonymous Artist Collective for Iran has taken responsibility for the act. “This homage is a call for action to support the current revolution in Iran, led by brave Iranian women risking their lives to stand up against oppression to overthrow a longtime authoritarian regime,” says the group in a statement.
In the eyes of many Iranians, Western institutions have not done enough to support the protesters. Iranian filmmaker and photographer Shirin Neshat, posted a video of the protest to her Instagram, where it garnered over 1000,000’s likes. “Mahsa] Amini emerged today!” she wrote. “Proud of a few brave Iranian artists who made a surprise protest by hanging this beautiful display, they are the conscience of the sleepy art world who cares little for Iranian women fighting for basic human rights and freedom.”
Maryam Eisler, an Iranian-born, London-based artist, responded to Neshat’s caption in the comments. “Sleepy is an understatement” she wrote. “It’s a disgrace.”