Art review: Peter Kennard

Imperial War Museum | ★★★★☆

 

In the cathedral of militaria that is the Imperial War Museum, a dash of pacifism can help keep things in perspective. Photomontage artist Peter Kennard spent the last 50 years making provocative collages denouncing conflict, greed and corporate misdemeanours. 

 

Kennard’s work is caustic and confrontational, the stuff of placards, bedroom walls and radical newspapers. He’s responsible for the Tony Blair Iraq War selfie image, and a gas-masked globe that became a widely adopted icon in the Stop the War campaign. The former isn’t included in Unofficial War Artist, a small exhibition of his work during the last five decades, but the latter is. The selective approach works – with Kennard all you need is a short sharp shock.