Stickers are a ubiquitous part of the urban environment, like this sign in Cable Street (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Stickers are a ubiquitous part of the urban environment, often more common than graffiti in city centres. They are quick, easy and cheap to produce and put up, so they are an effective way of getting a message across. They are employed for a variety of purposes, such as advertising, art and dissent. The meaning of many is not obvious, they remain indecipherable to all but the author and those with the right knowledge to decode them. They also come in many shapes and sizes, with many different techniques used to produce them. Like graffiti they are meant to be ephemeral, gradually disintegrating under the weight of the weather, idle hands and cleaners. As I move around London I photograph many of the protest stickers that I see, gradually building up a map of dissent in our capital. Below are some of the stickers I have seen.
A free education sticker outside of the University of London Union building in Malet Street on 17/02/15 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Occupy Parliament Square Sticker seen on the 02/02/15 at King’s Cross Station. This sticker has been weathered, picked, and written on- demonstrating how protest stickers can spark political debate (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Some stickers are printed, whilst others look more handmade, like this one seen in Brick Lane on 05/06/14 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Some stickers advertise a particular protest, like this one in Malet Street, seen on 17/02/15 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Not all protest stickers are left-wing, like this one seen at Euston Station on 14/11/14 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Something as simple as speech bubbles can drastically alter meaning, as with this government advert, seen on 04/02/15 in Elephant and Castle. These stickers allow a sort of audience participation, so others can add more tax dodging companies (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
This sticker has creatively recycled a page from a book to oppose Israel. Seen in Soho on 31/12/14 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Protest stickers are particularly common in some areas of the city, such Malet Street in Bloomsbury, where the University of London Union building is. This photo was taken there on 17/02/15 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
Some stickers can be seen in multiple locations across the capital. This photo was taken outside the Inner London Crown Court in Southwark, but it has also been seen at Euston Station (Photo: Hannah Awcock).
University Teacher in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Interested in the cultural, historical, and political geographies of resistance.
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