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Description: | This print refers to Che Guevara's capture and execution in 1967. It includes a ribbon with the Bolivian flag and sections of a map of Bolivia, where he was finally ambushed by the authorities. Guevara achieved iconic status and won the hearts of the Cuban people, whose rights he had fought for. Many of his supporters refused to believe that the revolutionary had been killed, especially as his family were not allowed to see his body. Mystery surrounded Guevara's death and some people questioned whether it was a conspiracy. Because of this, Joe Tilson is asking the question 'Is this Che Guevara?' By using press photographs and documents, the artist assembles them together as 'evidence' and a memorial. The repetition of a close up image of Guevara's face gives the work great immediacy. This approach also echoes that of the media, where an image is repeated to make a lasting imprint on public consciousness.
The Communist guerilla fighter Che Guevara was captured and executed in Bolivia, where he was trying to organise a revolution. His friend Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, described Che as an 'artist in guerilla warfare'. However, the events surrounding his death remained clouded in secrecy. When Joe Tilson made this work, two years after Che's death, his body had not been found. Tilson combines photographs with newspaper reports, the Bolivian flag and maps of the area where Che was killed. Che's body was found and formally identified in 1997, thirty years after he died.
Collage print displaying repeated images of Che Guevara with a ribbon down the centre displaying the Bolivian flag and various sections of the map of Bolivia. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ | Publisher: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Subjects: | Pop art Politics and culture Fine arts Works on paper Pop Collection 20th Century | Temporal: | 1969
20th century (1900-1999) | Source: | Black Country History | Creator: | TILSON; Joe (1928 -); RA | Identifier: | http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/colle... | Go to resource |
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