Noon #11
Biannual art magazine Noon gets political with its eleventh issue, themed Truth. Our detailed look today casts its eye over section seven of its sixteen parts: ‘Verity’ by Jeremy Deller.
Anyone familiar with Deller’s recent oeuvre will instantly recognise the political slogans that characterise his work since the lead up to the Brexit referendum. The phrases in the magazine are all based on slogan’s he’s been working with for a little while in different formats.
Though the designs are available to view online it’s only in the physical copy of the magazine that the eight pages of stickers come to life. Making use of the large format magazine, the eight stickers on each page are big enough to make a statement on whatever you choose to stick them on.
With the colour palette limited to a trio of black, white and millennial pink, even the colour choice is political: you could argue that this is a reclaiming of the much derided colour as being proactive, defiant and gender neutral instead of denoting consumerism and passivity.
There is no contextual information, essay, or anything to explain the choice of slogans, and it doesn’t need it. If you weren’t convinced into buying the magazine by the front cover featuring Deller’s ‘Deport Farage’ t-shirt, you might be in the wrong place. The cover’s muted portrait marks a departure from the more playful or close-up covers that Noon tends to go for, yet it’s the obvious choice and a good example of a magazine choosing a cover image that aligns itself with the content.
Noon tends to slip under our radar as being more in the fashion and photography side of the art world, but this latest issue, from new editor Maisie Skidmore, shows it is another magazine attempting to call direct action to Trumpian politics, the climate crisis and a myriad of other issues through creativity and the tactile format of magazines.
Truth is a touchy subject at the moment, with notorious liars in power in both the UK and the USA. Writing this in the middle of another record-breaking heatwave, a day after ‘fck govt fck boris’ protests marched through central London, yet with news that a no-deal Brexit is more likely than ever, it’s important to remember that even small acts of resistance still matter.
Editor-in-chief & creative director: Jasmine Rasnahan
Editor: Maisie Skidmore
Art director: Arpa
Designer: Tim Wan