This exhibition aims to show the quality of thinking that British designers, advertising agencies, artists and activists have brought to projects relating to social and political causes.

Much of the work shown is culled from the past two decades, ranging from landmark advertising campaigns and iconic poster images, to spray-can billboard liberation and ephemera from community workshops and alternative presses. Humour and wit are present in projects throughout (harking from a grand tradition of satire), as are works of great subtlety and sensitivity – where difficult messages are communicated tactfully but memorably. The exhibition therefore covers a wide variety of statements, approaches and techniques.

Highlights include: the essential Saatchi & Saatchi election poster "Labour isn’t Working" (1979); satirical comments in the form of Private Eye magazine covers and Spitting Image puppets, grassroots graphics relating to the Miners’ Strike, anti Poll Tax movement, Women’s Liberation, anti-racism and gay rights movements; campaigns tackling difficult issues such as child abuse; and current preoccupations with environmental, anti-corporate and anti-globalisation movements.

This exhibition celebrates how freedom of expression in British culture and politics is exercised both creatively and graphically. It also shows how that freedom is constantly probed and pushed to the limit by artists and activists alike, creating a visual dynamic that ensures that public viewpoints and tolerances never remain stagnant – but change and evolve with the times.

Enlivened by contrasts in scale (from small badges to large billboards), this is a vibrant collection of imagery that excites, challenges, possibly provokes, and in some cases, shocks – but ultimately, inspires all who view it.

The exhibition is curated by design historian and writer Liz McQuiston and was commissioned by the British Council in London on behalf of the British Council in Korea in partnership with the Korean Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP).

Up Front and Personal coincided with the KIDP’s first International Poster Biennale (20-27 November 2002) and the forthcoming regional and presidential elections in Korea.

Up Front and Personal was designed by Ben Drury and Ben Weaver of Separate Studios.

Find out more about our exhibitions -
Elections and Political Satire
War and Peace
A Global View
Home Truths
The Power of Pink
Eco-wars and Anti-globalisation

Project Manager Alison Moloney.