“HOW do artists contribute to our perceptions of war and conflict in an age where our understanding is shaped by the media and the internet?” asks Manchester’s Imperial War Museum. A current exhibitions looks for answers. Anorak
kennardphillipps are Peter Kennard and Cat Picton-Phillipps who have worked together since 2002, initially to make art in response to the invasion of Iraq. Their work is shown in a range of contexts, on line, in galleries and on protest marches. They describe their work as an integral part of political activism, a direct means of communication: ‘the visual arm of protest’. Photo Op, depicting Tony Blair taking a ‘selfie’ in front of a huge explosion, has become an iconic image. It was produced in response to the anger they felt at the Government’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, in the face of widespread public protest. They describe their need to create something that reflected and validated this public opposition, sentiments they felt were not reflected in the mainstream media at the time.
Here is an article from the UK Independent Newspaper in 2011 pointing up how oil interests and Iraq rebuilding contracts were excluded from the Chilcot Inquiry. I have a primary source who was offered an ‘In’ on Iraq rebuild contracts. They refused on moral grounds.
‘Mr Muttitt, whose book Fuel on the Fire is published next week, said: “Before the war, the Government went to great lengths to insist it had no interest in Iraq’s oil. These documents provide the evidence that give the lie to those claims.
“We see that oil was in fact one of the Government’s most important strategic considerations, and it secretly colluded with oil companies to give them access to that huge prize.”
Lady Symons, 59, later took up an advisory post with a UK merchant bank that cashed in on post-war Iraq reconstruction contracts. Last month she severed links as an unpaid adviser to Libya’s National Economic Development Board after Colonel Gaddafi started firing on protesters. Last night, BP and Shell declined to comment.’
Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq