I wanted to create a poster that looks as if it is composed of several torn posters layered one on top of the other. I wrote 'Free' in red letters, followed by the names of various countries where protests are occurring or where there are human rights violation issues. I used colors from each country's flag. At the bottom, I wrote 'Oppressed' in red letters to form the phrase 'Free Oppressed.'
I also included flags that appear as stickers pasted onto the posters, as well as the watermelon symbol, which is used as a substitute for the Palestinian flag. I’ve incorporated excerpts from the Wikipedia definition of the 'Israel-Palestinian Conflict.' Finally, 'stop the war' and 'ceasefire' are scattered throughout; in 'stop,' the 'o' is rotated to resemble a stop sign. I initially composed all of this in a Word document and printed it out. I then physically glued the pieces together and scanned them to achieve a more realistic, tactile result.
Regarding David Carson, I was inspired by his canvas composition. He uses layers and places elements in close proximity. In its initial form, my poster lacked the extra 'stickers' and lettering, but I felt it didn’t fit Carson’s aesthetic and wasn't cluttered enough. Furthermore, for Carson, every element has a purpose; nothing is placed randomly. I tried to emulate this through the placement of the country names. I wanted to highlight the disparity in how these issues are treated—specifically, the greater importance given to some countries over others. Since Carson prioritizes the emotional delivery of a message over legibility, I similarly did not focus on whether the viewer could read every country name or the full text regarding the conflict in Palestine.