Illustrating Fascism State of Power 2026

Working on the art for this collection of fiery essays on fascism was an unusual privilege. It was sad and frustrating  as most work and dialogue around such topics is, yet it also filled me with hope and a sense of purpose for the work we have cut out for us. I felt that my usual detailed and finessed art style would not do justice to the raw and emotive content of the topics the writers tackled. I needed to create a bold, rough and visceral response  to help bring the points home. Fascism is everyone's problem and for this project, it was mine to respond to.

Anger, fear and hate are easy emotions to create; they don't ask for patience nor empathy but that is exactly what fascists require of us and that is exactly what we have to counter by digging deeper into ourselves. Our responses have to be centred around community, selflessness and the ability to problem solve on the go, often times against laws created to protect  fascists. In my readings, I started to make connections between policies and the ways they protect the ruling class, capitalism and politicians, while pitching the rest of humanity against each other and trapping us in systems of surveillance, obedience and control. Eventually the themes of  the essays started to overlap: these are the patterns that colonisation, imperialism and pretty much every major government has knit into the fabric of our societies that we have to pull apart if we are to save our humanity and the planet. Our struggles and modes of oppression are all connected and intertwined.

I drew inspiration from  popular culture like 2001: A Space Odyssey, artists I look up to such as German artist Käthe Kollwitz, Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour', World War II propaganda posters and even an Easter egg showing an American president's infantile drawings. The colours I included were specifically chosen to support some of the intense dark themes, but also the brighter contrasting ideals that came through of rebellion and hope. Textures and rough lines were used with the intent to create a sense of ‘jarringness’, interruption and noise, but also to create an effect of overlapping  objects,  people and landscapes to tie in with the theme of connectedness.