Artist’s illustration of ‘drawing activism’
Quaker Artist Jill Gibbon is to give a talk about her work and the arms trade
The Quaker Artist Jill Gibbon, who masquerades as an arms trader to access private events, is to give a talk about her work and the arms trade.
The free event at The Peace Museum in Bradford on 2 June links with her exhibition ‘The Etiquette of the Arms Trade: Ten Years Drawing in Arms Fairs’.
Charlotte Hall, curator at The Peace Museum, told the Friend: ‘We wanted to show her work as it is something we haven’t seen before. She goes to the arms trade events and draws what she sees. So far we’ve had an interesting response. We’ve had lots of press attention, including an article in the Guardian, and 130 people came to the opening night. They were queuing out of the door.’
The exhibition shows images of weapons and military trucks clashing with champagne and string quartets. Also on display is a collection of arms-related ‘freebies’ she has picked up over the years, including stress balls in the form of tanks, bombs and grenades.
Jill Gibbon said in the Guardian: ‘There’s the deception that it’s just an ordinary business, when really it involves selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, who use them to carry out war crimes in Yemen.’ The exhibition runs until 28 June. The talk on 2 June is followed by a practical workshop: ‘Reportage Drawing as Activism’.
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