Graffiti artists to show the bigger picture for Amnesty

AMNESTY International has teamed up with six graffiti artists to hold a live exhibition inspired by the notion of freedom of expression.

The artists will create a huge mural of political prisoners in Burma at a live event in the SoCo Cowgate site, where they are also each displaying a giant canvas demonstrating a famous case from Amnesty's history.

The live performance will be attended by Waihnin Pwint Thon, a human rights campaigner whose father is a political prisoner in Burma.

Those taking part in the exhibition include famous Edinburgh graffiti artist 'Elph', whose painting will display Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. She reported extensively on the war in Chechnya before her murder in 2006.

The pre-prepared paintings are currently on display at the C Venues SoCo Urban Garden on the Cowgate, and the mural will be created this Saturday.

Organiser Graeme McGregor, 28, from the Meadows, explained that although graffiti was a controversial method of expression in itself he felt it was appropriate in this case.

"Traditionally we do a comedy gig at the festival, but this time we thought we'd try something not quite so mainstream," he said.

"There's a bit of debate around this sort of artform, but I always associate graffiti with freedom of expression because it was such a powerful display when, for example, the Berlin Wall was up. It allowed people to get across their message during a time when the media was so tightly controlled.

"The graffiti works celebrate important displays of human rights - or the restriction of - since Amnesty was born in 1961 to the present day. Some are overtly political, and others less so.

"For the live mural we picked a portrayal of the political prisoners in Burma, of which there are about 1,200. These people were imprisoned despite merely offering a peaceful political opinion to the public or demonstrating their culture."

Elph recently exhibited pieces illustrating the work of Scottish poet Robert Burns, and regularly runs art workshops with youth groups.

Last year he was invited to teach his skills to young offenders in Polmont in a move which critics dubbed "state-sponsored vandalism".

The "street artists" are hopeful this display will help more people enjoy their work, as well as giving them a bigger canvas on which to demonstrate their talents.

Amy Whiten - aka Syrkus - one of the artists taking part, said: "Often as street artists, the projects we are asked to take part in are a bit 'empty'. They can be really fun and it is great when you can create work of your own, but this project was a great opportunity to work to a brief, to push ourselves and to gain the interest of people so more people know about these stories and the work that Amnesty does. It feels lovely to be asked to be a part of a project like this."

Amnesty International's Programme Director in Scotland, John Watson said: "The Edinburgh Festival is a unique celebration of the right to freedom of expression, attracting writers, artists and performers from across the globe for more than 60 years. But it's important to remember that this right has been hard won, and that around the world, the struggle for freedom of expression goes on."