Speak Up! Or forever . . .

Silence is sound. Apathy is the noise of silence. Our quiet speaks for us. This living scrapbook of ideas entitled SPEAK UP! addresses our ability as societus intergratus to share our views without fear of reprisal. The art of Speak Up is one artist’s attempt to break his silence now rather than at the last minute when we may have already missed our chance to affect or inflict change.

A simple mind expansion exercise, the genesis of this piece lies in a guerilla intervention in which Rawlins plasters miniature stickers in public spaces. For him, fashion is also a public space. His yet-to-be-published scrapbook documents these interventions. The illustrations are inspired by a list of everyday passing references. The somewhat funny, somewhat political themes are meant to evoke and provoke thought, some humour, and maybe less silence.

Images courtesy the artist from The Jeans Project. 2007, Port of Spain A collaboration between Mario Lewis and Radical Designs in which artists were invited to experiment with jeans.