Extremely rare and desirable: hand signed, dated and unnumbered from the limited edition of only 30.  Spero’s often radical work made strong statements against war, male dominance and abuses of power, presenting compelling arguments for tolerance and a non-hierarchical society. The artist always viewed art as inseparable from life and, from this, developed a distinctive kind of political work. Polemical but symbolic, it combined drawing and painting as well as craft-based techniques like collage and printmaking, seldom associated with traditional Western notions of high art and mastery. This edition was produced by Spero to accompany an exhibition of political posters that was organised by the Archdiocese of South Africa alongside Amnesty International, political prisoner of the South African Apartheid and activist, Dennis Brutus (who was the South African Poet Laureate at the time), and Artists Against Death, an activist artist group calling for the end of the death penalty in America. Held at Robben Island, the exhibition was developed in order to draw attention to, and escalate a call for, the halt of the execution of death-row prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal of Philadelphia, USA, who was heralded as the 'voice of the voiceless' and was a leading critic of police brutality against violence. The exhibition went on to tour the USA and Europe, including a stage held at the ICA. An edition that is of huge importance both politically and art historically, the proceeds from this sale will go to Black Lives Matter - a cause which is continuing the crucial work of Abu-Jamal. This is a highly collectible vintage (1984) work that makes a great conversation piece and would look impressive in any socially conscious home or office.

Courtesy of Alpha 137 Gallery