Art Exhibition

RHETORIC – BYRON PRITCHARD

rhetoric |ˈrɛtərɪk| the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing.

“The world over, the rhetoric of modern democratic politics has been marked by two rather opposed rhetorical styles. The first appeals to hope, to popular aspirations for economic prosperity and social peace. The second appeals to fear, to sectional worries about being worsted or swamped by one’s historic enemies.
Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi

For his new show, Hackney artist Byron Pritchard brings together words, symbols and objects to explore national discourse through Rhetoric, at Eternal Youth, 378 Kingsland Road, London.

In this show tailored to the space, Pritchard lines the walls with oversized key sections of national flags, made from large sheets of coloured paper, and integrates block-printed political phrases related to each country.

Nations featured include China, India and Pakistan, all the subject of intense Western rhetoric but increasingly able to direct their own discourse. Germany provides a contrast, as a state now forced to express itself cautiously because of a history fuelled by rhetoric at the other end of the scale.

Rather than standing out from the flags, samples of rhetoric appear in complementary colours and simple capitals, making words and symbols part of the whole. But Pritchard leaves it to the viewer to draw their own conclusions. “I never aim to give anyone a message,” Pritchard says. “I really want people to come and see and ask their own questions and create their own message.”