Them—and—Us

Them–and–Us brings together 20 European and 20 African visual artists, designers, illustrators and photographers to explore the similarities and the differences between their respective worldviews and visual sensibilities. 

The artists were paired – one from Europe and one from Africa. Each pairing selected a theme from our online forum such as ‘heal-and-hurt, give-and-take, reason-and-madness’ and then designed a double-sided poster: one side European, the other African. Communication, discussion and the cross-pollination of ideas, opinions and styles were actively encouraged, and the resulting posters form a vivid dialogue centred on the notion of Them–and–Us, and the broader themes of tolerance and intolerance, as seen from the respective cultural viewpoints.

The package contains all 20 double-sided posters. It also houses a 56-page booklet profiling all the artists involved and detailing the purpose and processes of the project. As well as interviews with each artist, there are also excerpts of discussions taken from the online forum used by the participants to debate their individual and collective approaches.

Light–and–Dark
‘Paradise Lost’ by Lesley Moore

Light–and–Dark
‘Glare’ by Givan Lötz 

Weak–and–Strong
‘Weak & strong’ by Sac Magique
‘The persistence of dependency’ by Jordan Metcalf

Laugh–and–Cry
‘let’s let go’ by Rachel Thomas
‘let’s hold on’ by disturbance

Saint–and–Sinner
‘One man’s saint is another man’s sinner’ by Noma Bar
‘Point of view’ by Garth Walker

Give–and–Take
‘Untitled’ by Stina Löfgren
‘Give and Take’ by Victor Ekpuk

Smart–and–Stupid
‘You & me’ by Anthony Burrill

Pull–and–Push 
‘Fake Moon’ by Brendan Austin

Them–and–Us was exhibited with a live feed in Durban, South Africa and Stockholm, Sweden. All proceeds from sales of the publication and posters went to Amnesty International to help in the global fight against intolerance.