Thatcher Unmasked, 1986. All images © Peter Kennard.
The show at the Whitechapel Gallery pays homage to the artist’s notable role in art-ivism, spotlighting his heavy use of archival photography and manipulating mass-produced images
Upon entering the gallery space, we are confronted with images of Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger, names such as Saddam Hussein and George Bush, and words such as ‘apartheid’ and ‘nuclear war’ in bold graphics synonymous with the media and print aesthetics of the 1980s and ‘90s. Spanning five decades of his career, Archive of Dissent at The Whitechapel Gallery is a comprehensive exhibition of the work of Peter Kennard, the London-based artist and activist renowned for his mixed media and photomontage work addressing the most disturbing issues of our epoch.
This exhibition is one of the most extensive displays of his work to date, occupying three galleries within the historic space of the former Whitechapel Library. Free to the public, the exhibition offers a profound exploration of Kennard’s unique visual language and his persistent critique of social and political issues.
Born in 1949 in the UK, Kennard has been a pivotal figure in political art, using his craft to challenge the status quo and expose the mechanisms of power and oppression. His art has consistently bridged the gap between artistic expression and political activism, addressing issues such as the Vietnam War, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the Stop the War Coalition, and more recently, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. His commitment to environmental activism also underscores his work, making his messages relevant to a wide range of audiences.
“I’ve tried to make an exhibition that is not just a series of individual pieces but foregrounds the process of making”
Reflecting the history of its venue, Kennard’s exhibition transforms the space into a dynamic and evolving archive. The display includes a vast array of printed materials, from newspapers in which Kennard’s images first appeared to posters and books that continue to disseminate his powerful messages. “I wanted to respect the radical history of the East End and the place that the old Whitechapel Library played in that history,” Kennard tells BJP. “The People’s University of the East End … was a place where women and men of all nationalities came to read newspapers and books about world events, [and] as most of them were very poor, they could stay warm and meet [as a community].” Visitors can explore these works in various forms, including placards, vitrines, and lecterns, offering an immersive experience of Kennard’s artistic and activist journey.
The exhibition delves deeply into Kennard’s creative process, starting with his distinctive photomontages. Since the 1970s, Kennard has been inspired by John Heartfield’s pioneering use of montage as a political tool in the 1930s. Kennard’s works deconstruct familiar images, reimagining them in different formats and scales to highlight the intersections of power, capital, war, and environmental destruction. These montages are not just critiques; they also envision new possibilities emerging from the remnants of the old world order.
The artist explains that, alongside curator Hannah Woods, he’s “tried to make an exhibition that is not just a series of individual pieces but foregrounds the process of making so the visitor can see an original photomontage with all the bits glued together showing cut its marks and then see the same image on a poster, in a book, or on a placard”. He references one vitrine which is “not laid out carefully in the usual way but shows a reconstruction of my worktop over many years” which represents the chaotic act of making. “It’s materially based rather than on a screen, thereby the act of making is foregrounded to embody demystification of the process and encourage people to tear and cut apart some of the thousands of images we are bombarded with daily.”
Archive of Dissent also showcases Kennard’s recent ambitious installations, Boardroom (2023) and Double Exposure (2023), which utilise light, glass, and projection to explore the boundaries of photomontage. Additionally a new work, The People’s University of the East End (2024), pays homage to the former library’s role as a democratic space for community learning and engagement. This piece continues Kennard’s tradition of evoking protest iconography and highlighting issues of social justice.
Previous work has interrogated the UK’s involvement in the invasion of Iraq, such as Iraq: How, Where, For Whom? at the Mosaic Rooms in 2012, while the book @earth, published by Tate in 2011, is a photo-essay in seven chapters which combines new works, made together with Tarek Salhany, with iconic images from throughout Kennard’s 40-year career.
Kennard’s work is fueled by a deep-seated outrage against the pervasive influence of capital over societal values. “My art erupts from outrage at the fact that the search for financial profit rules every nook and cranny of our society,” says Kennard. He condemns the ways in which profit masks ills such as poverty, racism, war, and climate catastrophe. In one installation, small cards with the logos of various weapons manufacturers and vehicles of war-making are lined up in a row with target placards overhead, in front of the blurry outline of a human head.
Through his art, Kennard aims to tear away masks, revealing the victims and the resistance that often go unnoticed. By placing images of political leaders, “who are usually seen […] away from the state violence they perpetuate, in the same space as the victim,” through his photomontage work, Kennard says he tries to highlight “the obscene profit the global arms trade makes from ever more horrific weapons. I’m trying to make that connection between money and war,” he continues, “in a single image that might plant a seed in the viewer’s mind leading them to joining the global community of anti-war and climate activists.” His work is a rallying cry against the vast expenditures on weaponry and the profits of arms companies, advocating instead for human dignity and communal solidarity.
Archive of Dissent is showing at the Whitechapel Gallery, London 23 July 23 2024 till 19 January 2025
