Susan Shapiro
"We Celebrate Women's Struggles / We Celebrate People's Victories", 1975
17 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
43.8 x 54 cm.
43.8 x 54 cm.
Oakland, CA: Inkworks
259
Three-color poster. Below the titular declaration of freedom is a string of figures holding hands, ascending a mountain; the lead figure holds aloft a banner that merges the symbol for...
Three-color poster. Below the titular declaration of freedom is a string of figures holding hands, ascending a mountain; the lead figure holds aloft a banner that merges the symbol for woman with the flag of Vietnam. At the bottom of the poster is an inscription found written on the walls of a cell at Con Son Women's Prison in South Vietnam: "The mountain is only so high... / Our capacity is without limit. / The stars move; our will is unshakable!" As the poster states, Con Son Women's Prison was liberated on April 30, 1975. The prison was a vestige of colonial oppression, constructed by the French colonial government in the mid-19th century and used throughout the Vietnam War to imprison (and torture) political dissidents. The liberation of the prison complex marks a radical act of anti-colonialism, especially in its historical context. Fine. Framed.