by Vivienne Pratfall on Protest Law, Creative Cardboard, and the End of the Felt-Tip Pen Era
Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat
Last Tuesday I made a sign. It said “Honk If You Think Gerald Is Wrong About Dessert.” I laminated it. I stood outside Pret. Three people honked. One was a bus.
This week I learn that Britain has arrested 3,000 people for holding signs. I am reconsidering my public art practice.
The Legal Status of Cardboard in Modern Britain
According to Bohiney’s report on the placard crackdown, one person was arrested for a sign reading “Is This Allowed?” The answer was no. I find this philosophically rich and also terrifying.
I rang my friend Priya, who is a paralegal, and asked her about the sign law. She said it was complicated. I asked if laminating made it worse. She said probably not in law but possibly in terms of premeditation. I am taking this seriously.
Vivienne’s Guide to Legal Self-Expression
I have pivoted to interpretive eyebrow work. Everything I wish to communicate is now expressed facially. This morning I conveyed “the NHS is underfunded and also these croissants are stale” using only my left eyebrow. A man at the next table nodded. We understood each other perfectly.
The Banksy unmasking and my own romantic mysteries are, I think, connected. Everything anonymous is now dangerous. Everything expressive is now evidence.
Britain: where the pen is mightier than the sword, but the cardboard sign is now a criminal offence. I shall miss the laminator.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/britain-arrests-3000-people-for-holding-signs/
