Alternative Olympic Posters

M@
By M@ Last edited 148 months ago
Alternative Olympic Posters
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You may have seen the twelve official Olympic and Paralympic posters, revealed at Tate Britain yesterday. Art is, of course, subjective, but we'd be surprised if this motley dozen stirs anything more than apathy in most people. They're not even bad, just unmemorable.

Much more engaging (if less honed) are these colourful alternatives by artist Sarah Hyndman from With Relish. Her simple but striking idea is to place five everyday objects where you might expect to see Olympic rings. Unlike some of the official posters, these designs make you think. Beer cans, coins, tablets? (Aha, the penny drops.) Sticky tape, stamps and iPhone paraphernalia? (We have our theories.) And how did she manage to resist eating the Jaffa cakes long enough to make art with them?

Each design combines 'the people' (represented by the workaday objects), with 'the Olympians' (represented by the suggestion of rings), giving a much stronger reflection of the Olympic spirit than, say, yet another stripy painting from Bridget Riley.

Given that the posters include brands (M&Ms, London Pride...) there's no chance of their official adoption, but we love the notion nevertheless. Sarah's now dedicating herself to arranging five objects in this way every day until the Olympics, so fire off some suggestions for themes below.

Once again, no piece about alternative Olympic posters would be complete without us commending the work of Alan Clarke to your attention.

Inspired to create your own alternative Olympic poster? Send pics to tips@londonist.com

Last Updated 05 November 2011