Jess Dowson

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FMP - Casting

Today, I made a fist (with help from Sim).

Why did I make a fist?

It began during the 1960′s American Civil Rights movement - Black Power, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, Dr. King, and the Mexico Olypmics of 1968. This was where Tommie Smith & John Carlos (two American sprinters) raised their fists, each fist shrouded in a black glove, in defiance of the powers that be, in support of Black Power and the civil rights movement.

Since that era, this raised fist has been appropriated by different civil rights campaigners & liberation groups. Notably feminists, as well as some queer rights groups. It has become a symbol of protest, of defiance, and it will be a part of the installation that I am designing.

Is the (mis?)appropriation of such a powerful symbol justified? Please do debate for yourselves.