You may have seen various posters of Ian Paisley appearing in the Cathedral Quarter Belfast, Corporation St car parks Belfast, the Holylands Belfast, Ballycastle, Antrim and even London.
They are by a local artist TLO. I asked him for some background to the work, this is his reply:
I am an artist and the Doctored Paisley posters are from a series I made in response to the visual legacy of the Troubles and the cult of Paisley in particular. I wanted to present him in a new cultural context and to play with his brand image. I adapted an election poster from the 1980s and flyposted it in London and Northern Ireland throughout 2014 (before and after Paisley’s death). The work is based on a companion reliquary which can be seen here – www.ornamentalhermit.com – and is designed to prompt a dialogue about authenticity, devotion and loyalty. Prints and limited editions are available at www.ornamentalhermit.com
What do you think of the posters? An interesting pop art take on a political icon, or too soon after the death of a family man? Let us know your thoughts.
The London posters, photos by the artist:
The Belfast posters, photos by Alan Meban
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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