Remaking Picasso’s Guernica

Remaking Picasso’s Guernica is a protest banner created between 2012 – 2014, by a collective of 12 artists and activists.

Based in Brighton, south-east England, the collective say of their banner:

“The individual shapes that form the banner have been sewn in place through a series of 14 public sewings held in England and India. The sewings happened in public spaces, with an open invitation for people to join in, regardless of their level of sewing experience.”

“The banner makes connections between historic and current government-led aerial attacks on civilian populations in both its form and use. The banner directly refers to Picasso’s Guernica and the aerial bombardment of the Basque town Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It does so in name, through its title and through the visible use of key symbols from the original painting.”

“On the body of the horse in the banner, small human stick figures are drawn. These symbolize the uncounted and unnamed people killed in recent drone attacks taking place around the world.”

“The banner functions as both a work of art and an act of protest. It has been designed with the explicit intention of being carried by a group of people on protest marches. It is 1.45 metres high by 4.15 metres long; to carry it, the design necessitates people to stand side by side, walking along together.”


Close up of the Remaking Guernica banner
Original Guernica painting by Picasso in 1937

Images from remakingpicassosguernica.wordpress.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *