Len Breen & Juan Muñoz

Drawing
Ink and Gouache.
594mm x 840mm.

[ Collection: Leonard Breen - Catalogue: #791011 ]

This poster was made to commemorate the brutal murder of Blair Peach, a New Zealander who was attacked by Special Branch police on his way home from an Anti-Nazi demonstration in Southhall, London.

He died on 24 April 1979.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Peach

In late 1979 I met Juan in the Marquis of Granby, a pub at the top of Rathbone Place, London W1. I told Juan about creating a poster for the anniversary of the death of Blair Peach.

Juan reminded me how Spanish socialists used a technique to protest about the Franco fascist brutality and death squads. One person would lie on the tarmac and another would paint around the body leaving the outline and leaving a strong political and public message of protest - 'just like they did in the USA classic movie crime scene'.

I designed the graphics around the initial sketch we/he did on a paper napkin (Ref: LB archive!)

We re-constructed a crime scene, using paper on the floor of my flat/apartment in Rathbone Place and created the outline of Juan. I then combined my photograph of this painted outline with another of mine of the pebbled street in Percy Mewz. I then and added some red gouache and type. The final drawing/poster was exhibited in Poland and London.

Two other versions of the poster were later created in editing.



[ Date added ]







[ This variation refers the the killing of Ian Tomlinson by Metropolitan Police in 2009 in London. ]