/ Projects
An innovative initiative that combines art, advertising and activism to spread a fundamental message
L*3
- In Lugano, as part of the Plan B forum, you can admire various waste bins in the city center, decorated with flashy graphic elements and bright colors, transformed into cans of soft drinks and becoming real works of art.
These cans not only capture attention, but they want to convey powerful messages about freedom of information, truth and justice.
But why combine such strong principles and values with an object that is basically used to store garbage? This is precisely the fundamental point on which we must ask ourselves: what is the value of freedom of the press and information? - The 'Enjoy the Truth' campaign was created with the aim of raising awareness on critical issues of press freedom and expression, as well as to support the cause of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. The cans, reinterpreted with creative logos and meaningful slogans, symbolize the transformation of information and the fight for a more open and informed world.
The cans, personalized with logos and messages that communicate the fight for press freedom and the right to information, symbolize the need for an open and informed world.
Gallery
No items found.
- Proposal
- June 2019
- Started
- January 2020
- In progress
Julian Assange
- Julian Assange is an Australian journalist, programmer and activist, renowned for his significant contribution to investigative journalism. He is the co-founder of WikiLeaks, a platform that has gained worldwide fame thanks to the disclosure of secret documents from anonymous sources, including those related to war crimes and the reporting of various government and corporate abuses.
- The mission of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks has been to promote press freedom, transparency and the public's right to information. In recognition of their courage and commitment, they have received numerous awards.
However, at the moment, Julian Assange is being held in the United Kingdom and risks being extradited to the United States. - His detention has generated wide interest and controversy at the international level. The accusations against him in the United States concern the publication of confidential documents on WikiLeaks, with legal implications that raise questions about respect for press freedom and human rights, as well as the legitimacy of the legal actions taken against him.
The artist: PAO
- PAO trained in theater as a machinist, sound engineer and stage technician with the company of Dario Fo and Franca Rame. He studied and worked at the laboratories of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan; in 2000 he created his first street art interventions, becoming one of the pioneers of the movement in Italy.
- Famous for his “penguins” painted on road curbs, in 2007, after the Street Art exhibition, Sweet Art, set up at the PAC in Milan, he began working on canvas and three-dimensional fiberglass supports, thus developing new paths through experimentation on materials, perspective research, visual distortions and the use of curved geometries and imaginary worlds.
Interview with Pao di Lugano Eventi
- 'An important message about freedom'
- On the occasion of Lugano Plan Forum, from 20 to 21 October at the Palazzo dei Congressi and the Ciani Park, the street artist Pao created an intervention in the urban space thanks to a collaboration between Lugano Living Lab and Arte Urbana Lugano. Let's meet Pao to find out more.
- What does your intervention in urban space consist of?
- The intervention I carried out in Lugano consists of the transformation of city center baskets into cans of soft drinks, combining art, advertising and activism. These cans not only capture attention, but they send an important message about freedom of information, truth and justice. The initiative was created with the aim of raising awareness on critical issues of press freedom and expression and to support the cause of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who has gained worldwide fame thanks to the disclosure of secret documents from anonymous sources, including those related to war crimes and the reporting of various government and corporate abuses. However, Assange is now being held in the United Kingdom and risks being extradited to the United States. His detention has generated wide interest and controversy at the international level. The accusations against him in the United States concern the publication of confidential documents on WikiLeaks, with legal implications that raise questions about respect for press freedom and human rights, as well as the legitimacy of the legal actions taken against him. I hope that my speech will make a small contribution to this important cause.
- How does it relate to the themes of the Plan Forum?
- Julian Assange's family will participate in the Plan Forum precisely to support his cause and prevent extradition to the United States. In addition, the topic of individual freedom, as well as freedom of the press and expression are topics very dear to all experts and enthusiasts of crypto, bitcoin and blockchain.
- In the works created in Lugano, the famous and recognizable pop brand is distorted. How? What does the distortion want to evoke?
- Advertising and companies have always taken inspiration and 'steal' from youth trends and underground movements to cloak themselves in an aura of transgression and 'coolness'. Underground movements and street art have responded by developing the practice of “subvertising”: adopting corporate methods and symbols to launch social messages, often exposing and overturning advertising lies. In this case, I took one of the most famous American logos to send a message about freedom of expression. I like the combination between this symbolic brand of the USA, a country that loves to define itself as a land of freedom, and the theme of freedom of expression.
- To the practical function of the support, the works add symbolic meaning. Which one?
- I played with the different levels of meaning that come to be created, between the original function of the support, the form and the message that I wanted to send. The baskets made me think of junk food and drinks, as well as junk information and fake news. To the playful dimension of transformation, typical of my work in urban space, has been added the need to send a message. Each 'can' has been adorned with phrases and slogans against censorship and in favor of the free press. In particular, I wanted to highlight the function of the baskets with a logo that invites us to 'not throw away the truth' and a can has been dedicated entirely to 'False News'. The alienation caused by artistic intervention, I hope, will be followed by curiosity and the desire to learn about this fundamental issue necessary for democracy to prosper.
Download
Links
Partners
No items found.