The LSE Arts exhibition, Justice and Security: there is more than one truth, presents a unique viewpoint on many of the conflict-torn regions of the world through cartoons provided by the Video Journalism and Cartoon Movements. The exhibition is open to the public from Monday to Friday, 10am -8pm, in the Atrium in the Old Building.
The Arab Spring may have got off to a relatively flying start in Tunisia and Egypt, but it was in Libya that it really became grisly. As the Libyan people stood up for their rights, their former leader, Muammar Gaddafi retaliated with a ferocity which led to a full-blown civil war. Issues of justice and security are replicated in several countries, not just in Africa, but across the world.
It is subjects like these that the Justice and Security Research Programme within LSE’s Department of International Development will explore. Currently, it is doing so through a thought-provoking exhibition of cartoons at LSE, in conjunction with the Video Journalism Movement (VJM), which showcases issues of justice and security.
The image below, entitled We Come in Peace, is reminiscent of the Trojan War in Greek mythology. After warring with Troy for almost a decade without victory, Odysseus builds a large wooden horse, hollow inside, into which he duly enters with his soldiers. The rest of the Greek fleet sails away.
The people of Troy, imagining themselves to have finally broken the Greeks, celebrate by dragging the horse into their city believing it to be a gift and a good omen.
Of course, once the Trojans are sleeping off their drunken celebrations, the Greek warriors emerge from the hollow horse and slaughter the people of the city.
On the flip side, this image also combines the Biblical Ark built by Noah and the dove which he sent out to see if the earth was ready for human habitation following the Flood.
Which version of the image should we trust? Similarly, the message from this cartoon is that “peace can be uncertain and ambiguous”.
In Message from the International Community, the cartoonist questions the lack of action by the UN and the rest of the world in times of violence.
Where do you stand on Transitional Justice? Is it any better than traditional justice?
The exhibition, Justice and Security: there is more than one truth, will open to the public until 17 Feb in the Atrium at LSE from 10am to 8pm Monday to Friday.
