Warsong
Competition Cover artwork
This artwork is for The Cure’s ‘Warsong’, submitted to War Child Secret 7″ through the D&AD New Blood Awards. It portrays the lyric "we tear the night in two" as the star-spangled banner’s iconic blue canton ripping apart. Considering the dynamic between war and patriotism (the US national anthem itself describes "rockets’ red glare, bombs bursting in air"), the American military–industrial complex is clearly tied to national pride, yet is globally harmful, prompting feelings explored in Warsong: ‘All we will ever know is bitter ends, for we were born to war.’ Graphically and thematically, this outcome also draws from Sister Corita Kent’s works exploring social justice and incorporating cultural identity.