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Infantry

Poster
2001 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Lippa Pearce (designers)
Pearce, Harry (designer)
Place of origin
England (designed)

Printed poster, a full-length black and white photographic portrait of a child stood face-on and holding an assault rifle. Across the child's torso, printed inside on a transparent red rectangle, is the word 'INFANTRY' split into white and red lettering to emphasise the word 'INFANT.'

Object details

Categories
Posters
War
Object type
Poster
Titles
  • Infantry (assigned by artist)
  • Children at War (series title)
Materials and techniques
Printed paper
Paper
Printing
Brief description
Infantry poster by Witness / Harry Pearce, ca. 2007
Physical description
Printed poster, a full-length black and white photographic portrait of a child stood face-on and holding an assault rifle. Across the child's torso, printed inside on a transparent red rectangle, is the word 'INFANTRY' split into white and red lettering to emphasise the word 'INFANT.'
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'INFANTRY'
  • 'CHILDREN AT WAR: / WITNESS SPOTLIGHTS / THE TRAGEDY OF / CHILD SOLDIERS / WORLDWIDE'
  • 'WITNESS USES VIDEO / AND TECHNOLOGY / TO FIGHT FOR HUMAN / RIGHTS. WORKING IN / PARTNERSHIP WITH / ACTIVISTS AROUND / THE GLOBE, WITNESS / DOCUMENTS ABUSES / AND BRINGS THE / EVIDENCE BEFORE / COURTS, GOVERNMENTS / THE MEDIA AND THE WORLD'
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
Human rights

Clever design can create attention-grabbing human rights campaigns.

Harry Pearce’s poster uses typography to emphasise the word ‘infant’ in ‘infantry’, highlighting the fact child soldiers are sometimes used in armed conflict. Elsewhere, the use of real bank notes for the poster for Zimbabwe’s national newspaper highlighted a tragic economic disaster.

8 It’s cheaper to print this on money than on paper
Designer: TWBA/Hunt/Lascaris for The Zimbabwean
Date: 2009
Location: South Africa
Materials: Printed bank notes
Given by TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris
Museum no. E.1083-2011

9 Infantry
Designer: Harry Pearce/Pentagram for Witness
Date: 1994
Location: England
Materials: Printed paper
Given by Harry Pearce
Museum no. B.40-2023

[Young V&A, Design Gallery, Design gives us a voice, group object label]
Credit line
Given by Harry Pearce
Subjects depicted
Children
Soldiers
Collection
Young V&A Collection
Accession number
B.40-2023

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Record createdJanuary 16, 2023
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1741686/infantry-poster-pearce-harry/
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