7 DAYS LATER: Politics and graphic design at Nation 283

Written by Loula Mercedes

Published date 01 June 2017

For their final year project, second year BA Graphic Design students presented Nation 283, an event focusing on the intersection of politics and graphic design. They invited the public to take part in workshops, talks and activities held in Peckham’s Bussey Building. Here, Senior Lecturer Robert Sollis and Graphic Design student Imogen Walker share images from the events of the weekend and an introduction to the ideas behind the project.

Rob: “The students were exploring new political ideas around how society, finance and education should be organised. They felt that their ideas were too radical to be believable within the current political climate, so they felt that they had to propose an alternative. An alternative nation.

They called the show Nation 283 and declared the site of the show the 283rd independent state. The number 283 came from adding up all of the ‘officially’ recognised countries, some semi-official ones and the desire to recognise a whole load of micronations similar to Nation 283. You got a passport and Nation 283 citizenship as you entered.”

Imogen: “At a time when the United Kingdom is turning inwards and a resurgence of nationalism has emerged across the country, Nation 283 sets out to critique the idea of the nation state and calls for new political alternatives.”

“Set up on cooperative principles, Nation 283 offers new ways of teaching and learning, buying and selling, making and sharing. With its roots in visual communication, Nation 283 challenges us to think about design in relation to twenty-first century ideas around work, collectivity and social purpose.”

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