Positive Postcards (from the Edge)

These postcards follow on from Pope's' Positive Posters' referencing rave flyers, viral statements, political advertising and protest banners, and the work of feminist artists such as Jenny Holzer. This set was made with rural seaside towns in mind, the signage you might find there, and the sense of humour which develops in a location like this. Pope describes the series as: "a print project which I began in 2020. The works have all been made in a complicated bad mood, under a conservative, pro-austerity government in the UK, during and ‘after’ the pandemic, employing humour, class politics and colloquial aphorisms. They are influenced by feminist artists who have used text and print methods to critique power and labour constructs. Alternatively, they are a collection of embittered (and sometimes drunken) scrawlings, sentimental statements and half-baked Marxism, which can be found in my notes folder alongside ‘buy chopped tomatoes for the pasta bake’. The ego of being honest, profound and concise in relation to your own position within the world, specifically in relation to employment or marginalisation, and how this profundity, these statements, can be commodified or made viral, is something I’m very preoccupied with."