Exhibition Catalogue: DISCRIMINATE | John Brookes

1 DEC 202311 FEB 2024

DISCRIMINATE John Brookes | Window Gallery

Belco Arts acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land where we meet and work, the Ngunnawal people, and the many other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from across Australia who have now made Canberra their home. We celebrate and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of the ACT and region.

DISCRIMINATE An exhibition by John Brookes DISCRIMINATE takes a challenging and satirical look at how modern-day mediadepicts people with disabilities and in doing so, often inadvertently, reinforceslimiting preconceptions of the sector by the wider public.

The exhibition explores these notions by using the style and design of early 20th Century propaganda posters widely used in the two World Wars, Maoist China, the Cold War etc.

This format addresses contemporary perceptions – through definitions identified in a recent UN Report – of people with disabilities as “victim” [perception of weakness, needing extra support], “hero” [idealises all disabled people as inspirational, hero status gained through conforming to ableist society, pressure on average disabled person to over-achieve] and “villain”[demonising those with mental health issues in media coverage of mass shootings, movie portraits of villains in mental health terms such as “Joker”].

The exhibition questions mainstream media portrayals and encourages people – disabled or not – to look beyond the popular messages and to be more‘discriminating’ in their outlook as opposed to ‘discriminatory.’

“Art and propaganda often intersect, as art can be used to spread a political message or ideology.

Propaganda aims to influence the thoughts, beliefs, andactions of a target audience, while art can serve as a medium for that message… Satirical art can also challenge or subvert propaganda, casting a critical eye on the original message, whilst highlighting the dangers of those messages.

“Probably the best way to differentiate between satirical art and propaganda is to ask ourselves – was it made to manipulate public opinion and who stands to gain from this message?”

‘The Fine Line between Art and Propaganda’, March 17 2022, Sima Zureikat.

Artworks that are for sale can be purchased in person at Belconnen Arts Centre, or online at shop.belcoarts.com.au.

About John Brookes John has over 30 years in arts marketing in the public, government, commercial and disability charity sectors across the UK, Fiji and Australia.

He has worked for the London Police, Royal National Institute of the Blind, Fiji Paralympic Team and Fair Canberra among others; as well as exhibiting locally since emigrating 14 years ago. He previously worked for two years with the Spinal Injuries Association of Fiji following Hurricane Winston, documenting relief efforts, and promoting disability arts as a form of healing after the disaster. He is a previous recipient of the of the ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion for Excellence in Volunteer Support and nominee for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

John lives in Canberra and is active in the local arts sector, using a range of media from pencil drawing, poetry and ceramics, to photography and digital art.

THESE WORKS ARE SATIRE They are based on historical propaganda posters to make a point.

The purpose is to highlight and expose the prejudice that many people with physical and mental “disabilities” still undergo – some intended, some unconscious – through the media and those who are too influenced by stereotypes.

Too many still see those with disabilities as victims, villains or people who need to over-achieve to justify themselves.

The intent is not to offend but to DEFEND everyone’s human rights.

Please read this exhibition brochure for full context.

List of Works 1.

Not Relevant

2023. 1189mm x 841mm.

$250

Arguably one of the more contentious posters in this exhibition, ‘Not Relevant’ is a take on the Nazi-era propaganda that highlighted the concept of a ‘perfect’ master race, placing those who did not conform in ideological cells – Jewish people, gays and lesbians, Roma and those with disabilities – all portrayed as both pathetic specimens of life and burdens on Nazi society.

So how does this relate to modern perceptions of people with disabilities? Whilst mercifully the concept of enforced euthanasia (meaning “beautiful death”) has long gone, one could argue that the far-right notion of eugenics is echoed in modern times… for instance what are the synergies between new prenatal diagnostic techniques used to identify genetic imperfections in fetuses and earlier ideas?

Whilst the inevitable attempts to ‘cleanse’ 1930s and 40s Germany of Jewish people is well documented; the volume of disabled adults and children is equally hard to digest – only records of deaths from 1940-1941 exist but they already tallied 300,000 by then, through the secretive Operation T2. A further 400,000 were forcibly sterilized.

The image above directly links Nazi misinformation campaigns to prevailing views of those with disabilities to be suffering; whilst often their achievements and levels of contentment with life are underplayed as ‘Not Relevant’. Gary is a real person. When I first met him, I’m ashamed to say my initial reaction was of sympathy, I had the same prejudices as many – ‘what a terrible situation!’ Yet he is happily married, has a successful career, and has a great social circle.

What if society had taken the same view of him as Hitler in Mein Kampf? “Those who are physically and mentally unhealthy and unworthy must not perpetuate their suffering in the body of Hereditary Illnesses are a Heavy Burden for their children” (1925). the People and the State (1934) If history has taught us anything it is, with the right attitude and support of those around them, people with disabilities are not ‘victims’ and they are not a burden. They are, first and foremost, people who contribute and give to society rather than take; and they deserve credit for that. We must never allow the dystopia depicted in the hatred of Nazi publications to in any way influence society, no matter how subtly.

2.

Pity Party

2023. 1189mm x 841mm.

$250

Here, we move from one totalitarian State to another, that of Maoist China – another government which made heavy use of propaganda iconography but with a very different stance on framing disabled people as ‘victims’.

China’s take here is more complex… the image focuses on the ‘victim’, easily identified through the loss of a limb, at the back of a mass rally; separated from her able-bodied peers. But why the exclusion from the others? Is she at the back of a mass rally being shunned as non-conformist (a huge Maoist sin). Or is she walking to the front on a wave of condescending, sentiments - thus excluded by sympathy; an easier response to her disability than empathy (which requires a much deeper understanding of the person)?

Either way, what does this tell us about contemporary perceptions of disabled people as victims? Like it or not, modern society is still overwhelmingly ‘ableist’- reacting to disabled victims with pity and sympathy; however well-intentioned. Pity assumes that the subject is in NEED, that because of their disability they require able-bodied people to ‘help’ them. Yet the very charities providing practical support often, in raising funds for service provision, rely on our feelings of sympathy, of wishing to do good and give to good causes. In order to do this many organisations portray disabled people as dependent on charity – inadvertently reinforcing the victim label.

This applies to mental illness equally. Some organisations capture the nuance of this well, but others unlock the ‘pity’ emotions that lead to donations, by showing the worst scenarios – homelessness, marital breakdown, substance abuse etc. Whilst valid to a point, highlighting such extremes belies actual statistics, skewing the victim image further.

Mental health is still tied to victimhood and the need for a cure “for society’s betterment” in China; where Islam has been decreed a mental illness – with over three million ethnic Uyghurs being interned in “hospitals” to be “treated” since 2017. This shows the dangers in seeing disabled people as victims needing State intervention to ‘help them conform to social norms’.

Disability Rights protest at Charity Telethon (1992)

We don’t live in a society of enforced brainwashing, but the underlying dogma is there – ‘them and us’ - with able-bodied people as the norm and disability the aberration. Note the epidemic of drug use in controlling mental health conditions in the West – for instance psychotropic prescriptions doubled among children in Australia between 2013 and 2021. A disruptive child on Ritalin may be less likely to ‘upset societal norms’ but what about the long-term? What are the issues arising from routine medicating and what about the individual themselves?

3.

They Walk Among Us!

2023. 1189mm x 841mm.

$250

This image involves a combination of different yet interlinked propaganda styles that move beyond overt State messages: sensationalist 50s B-movie horror films and a more modern collage of equally sensationalist media headlines regarding those with perceived mental illness. Collage is a technique arising from the Dadaist movement; the ripping up and repositioning of media icons in order to critique and subvert the original messages - Nazism, early 19th century sexism and racism, or misconceptions of disability.

One might ask how does this relate to disability, and isn’t propaganda the domain of the State not the headline seeking journalists? In the image given we see the answers to both, albeit in a more insidious approach to influencing public perception through both news and entertainment media.

The reference to 50s US B-movies comes through the schlock hysteric headline “They Walk Among Us!” – such movies being an obvious analogy to fears of Russian invasion (‘Invaders from Mars’, ‘They Came from Outer Space’, etc.). However, as the Cold War dragged on the monsters and aliens disappeared to be replaced with the scariest of creatures – fellow man.

The US Government’s “reds under the bed”, created an individual focus on threats to social stability and the American Dream, and added a paranoia into the mix… the message of vigilance as there are people out there who look just like you and me but they mean to harm us. The mass media of B movies, was the perfect vehicle for this paranoia – although targets other than Communists also came under the spotlight…

In the guise of Norman Bates a new monster emerged onto the scene – no green skin or lasers, just a serious and psychotic mental illness. “Psycho” was born. Since then our insatiable appetite to be scared by the spectre of unseen mental illness in its extreme, can be seen in the explosion of exploitation films in the 70s through 90s, with titles such as “Maniac”, “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”.

More recently we have seen validations of this movie genre - once seen as trashy - such as 4 Oscar winner “Silence of the Lambs” and the more recent hit “Joker”. “Joker” director Todd Philips claims in defense that the film is about child trauma and mental illness, about how "The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don't". Yet there is no avoiding the fact that “Joker” falls into the same old murderer trope and through his actions, becomes an agent of social disruption and anarchy at the finale.

So given this skewed depiction of people with mental illness as villains, one might perhaps expect the independent media to provide a counterbalance in their reporting of everyday mental

MANIAC movie poster (1980)

illness issues. Perhaps not. To begin with, the media is rarely independent – either following the ideologies of their owners or maintaining sales by giving the public what they want. And what they seem to want are stories that give a realism to the threat. Not characters on a movie screen but real-life psychopaths, just waiting to unleash violence and mayhem through murders and mass shootings. Put bluntly, these stories sell newspapers and boost TV media consumption. The same goes for the even less regulated social media crime podcasts – a simple search will bring up a long list of true crime clips – with titles such as ‘Narcissist’s Deadly Obsession’, ‘the Craziest Bi-polar Interrogation Ever’, and ‘Mentally Unstable Caretaker Finally Snaps’.

In an increasingly isolated society, where interaction with others is ever more limited and we mistrust our own neighbours, the media has become a sort of self-inflicted propaganda; in which the more down-toearth story of mental disability is drowned out. The vast majority of people with mental illness have full and fulfilling lives, managing their condition to achieve their potential; and statistically are no more violent than the rest of society.

Indeed, people with mental health issues are much more likely to harm themselves than others. That might not make for good entertainment for the masses, but better support for people with mental disability is the realistic – and humane – way to remove barriers to mentally ill people’s inclusion into society. Whether we shun exclusion, exploitation, and misconceptions, and instead embrace inclusion and understanding is ultimately a moral dilemma that we all need to address.

4.

Do Your Duty, Comrade

2023. 1189mm x 841mm.

$250

In this image, people with mental health issues are again painted as villains – though a very different existential threat to society is depicted here. Not known for subtlety, this work of Propaganda proclaims, in bold Soviet-red font – that mental health “sufferers” are two times more likely to be out of work, a startling figure.

This reflects a common theme that propaganda posters often have in common with mainstream media; the use of striking statistics in a punchy headline to grab attention and elicit an emotional response – be that shock, national pride, sympathy or, in this case, outrage. Of course, statistics can be manipulated to the users’ own ends. The headline here actually ran in a national newspaper; its purpose: as discussed above, to use a shocking headline to elicit outrage and drive sales.

The actual statistics tell a different story – the story is based on an ANU Doctoral research paper which found that the “Unemployed are up to twice as likely to be depressed” – hardly a surprising fact and one which puts a very different spin on things. The correlation is between unemployment leading to poor mental health not the other way round, but arguably the former wording makes for more impactful headlines and engagement from the public. Sadly the overall, skewed, message remains – in our soundbite society headlines count more in embedding public opinion than the more balanced and considered stories that they summarise.

So do modern Western messages correlate to Soviet-era attitudes to disability? Not completely, as the era saw a shifting of perceptions of disability. Early on the term “invalid” applied mainly to the Russian military, injured through war, and thus had more positive connotations; applying to comrades who had “Done their Duty”. But what of the non-military disabled population? Along with their military counterparts, the concept of doing one’s duty became embedded post-1921 (the first-year non-military disabled people were recognized as such; previously they were ignored), and in 1932 a disability classification was introduced that divided "invalids" into three groups based primarily on a calculation of one's degree of ability to work. Whilst this was allied with rudimentary levels of state support in lieu of wages, after World War Two opinions changed. Rather than being seen as heroes or victims, disabled soldiers were a shameful and visible reminder of the negative cost of the war – an attitude which became applied to the wider disabled population (not unlike the response to US and Australian Vietnam veterans).

“The invalids in the post-war period...were left to the mercy of fate, people were ashamed of them, turned away from them, hid them with an unpleasant feeling of guilt and a sense of the ugliness of life — everything was done to keep them out of the official gala picture of peace-time life”. (Gudkov 2005:4) Here we see a notion of being ashamed of disabled people - and this became crystallized in the idea that they are unable to do their duty (a very narrow, ableist definition of work). As we see in the image above, the text is aimed directly at the disabled person, using chiding language, with the assumption that issues affecting work capacity are due not to very real physical and mental disabilities, but to laziness and lack of willingness to engage with mainstream society (“get out of bed, get a life”). That was the concept in Soviet-era Russia, and we need to ask ourselves, to what degree have we, as a modern society, truly moved on from this concept of disability equating to lack of contribution to society: taking up funds that could be serving able-bodied people or simply taking handouts without seeking to play a productive role?

As we shall see in other works in this exhibition; immigration policies, lack of willingness to employ disabled people through employer prejudice, ever more complex and poorly implemented systems such as the NDIS, and the media themselves all contribute to a very real perception of disabled as less productive and more resource intensive. All this whilst paying lip service to ‘disabled rights’ and adulating positive role models whilst relegating much of the disabled 'There's a man's job for you In population to lower-level citizens. This does not Australia' (1947) reflect well on us, within a society and employment framework which continues to put barriers - literally and metaphorically - in the way of disabled individuals who want to enter the arena of employment and fulfil their potential.

Instead of being galvanized by collective shame at this situation as an apparently caring society and state, we instead put the burden of shame on the very individuals who are not culpable here – the disabled population itself.

5.

Reach For The Stars

2023. 1189mm x 841mm.

$250

For this image we return to the 1950s. A time often viewed with nostalgia in the West, despite the ever-present threat from outside forces. But what about internal influences?

Interestingly, as we see in propaganda AND media of all political leanings, Australia maintained an ideal equivalent of “the American Dream”, of a perfect society - nuclear family, white picket fences and hard working white Christian folk.

those with mental and physical disabilities.

So where did mentally and physically disabled people fit into this ideal world? Through their actions and simply by being, in the minds of many they disrupted the almost Nietzschean obsession with young, fit, happy families - active and hardworking, sporty and poster perfect. Part of achieving this ideal was the introduction of the “White Australia Policy” of 1901 which, as its name suggests, was focused on maintaining a pure, white Anglo-Saxon culture in this growing colony, which could “breed a whole new type of person from ‘the stock of Mother England,’ who was healthy and fit” (Bashford 2004). However, notions of racial purity went further and included all perceived ‘undesirables ‘- including

Obviously, one must be careful in comparing Australian policies with the more extreme eugenic policies of say, Nazi Germany, but one cannot ignore an underlying ideology here that implicitly sees disabled migrants as potential threats to the ‘pure’ Australian nation. Even today, Australia’s immigration policies make it virtually impossible for disabled applicants to get a visa. Section 60 of the Migration Act of 1958 states that applicants must prove they will not pose a significant cost to the community or prevent Australian citizens and permanent residents from accessing healthcare or community services regardless of whether or not they would use such services (Section c(ii), Section 60, Migration Act of 1958). Here again, is the implicit notion that disabled immigrants pose a threat to citizens’ health and wellbeing—that their presence takes something away from the able- bodied citizen. This Act is still in place today and is exempt from subsequent anti-Discrimination Acts.

Thus we can see certain synergies between past and present in systemic discrimination against disabled people, which also include the age-old concepts of partition over participation. Whilst large scale institutions for disabled people no longer exist, little thought seems to have been given to the integration of disabled people into wider society: “people in wheelchairs cannot access the public facilities taken for granted by others in the community, such as playgrounds, swimming pools, cinemas, restaurants, hotels, and cafes. Children with disabilities find themselves excluded from local kindergartens and schools. Qualified and competent candidates for jobs are rejected because of their disability. People with mobility aids have difficulty regularly accessing public transport.” (SHUT OUT, Government Report 2019).

So where does the “Hero” notion come into all of this? I would contend that raising a small number of high-achieving disabled people onto pedestals is a way in which society can ignore the real-life experience of most people with disabilities and say instead: “Look how well this disabled person is doing

through our inclusive society, what a success story!”. In effect the achievements of the disabled individual become appropriated by wider mainstream society. We need only to look at cases such as Dylan Alcott (named 2022 Australian of the Year and winner of several Paralympic gold medals) to see this process. A well-deserved accolade but who takes the credit?

And once again, the media fails to add balance to this skewed representation – it adds to the adulation of such stars and goes further – holding onto the early twentieth notions of physical perfection and reinforcing them in advertising: in social media influencers, in size 0 models, pumped up actors playing superheroes and a dogged focus on looking (airbrushed) picture perfect at all times. This ideology is pushed – often at the youth – to such a degree that even among able-bodied media consumers body image issues, depression, eating disorders are a serious problem.

The overall impression is that in order to ‘justify’ their place in society, disabled people must overachieve – in sports, academia, music and so on, in order to serve society and find inclusion not through just getting on with life, but in performing a task as disabled ambassadors; feeding society’s wish to feel we all have a clear conscience in disabled rights. Yet even those who do have those talents, find the very talent itself subsumed in their disability and are thus still set apart – they become a disabled musician not just a musician, a disabled tennis player etc.

And what about the average disabled people out there; the vast majority who – just like the majority of able-bodied people – are not Olympic level athletes, Nobel prize winners or talented entertainers? How does this person living their day-to-day life react to this?

Or rather, how does social and the media systemically impel them to react.

For a start, they must contend daily with a barrage of media and state messages telling them how they should live, how they must deal with their lot in good London Paralympics Poster: humour and how they must measure "Meet the Superhumans" (2012) themselves against the same perfect model media norms that cause mental and physical issues for the wider able-bodied community – only more magnified. Of course there is nothing wrong whatsoever with high aspirations whoever you are – the issue here is that there should also be space for those with less “media-friendly” and headline grabbing goals; starting a family, having a good job, buying a house. Not everyone WANTS to be held up as an icon…

In theory our ‘woke’ society welcomes diversity in all its forms and positivity. In practice we still fall short – we demand that for those who are often perceived as ‘other’ by society (through disability, gender, sexuality, race etc.) - everyday living is not enough. They must constantly give thanks for their position in a society that only nominally accepts them for the most part.

To be average is not enough. They must be Heroes.

6.

Be A Hero

2023. 1189mm x 841mm.

$250

In this, the final image, we see an amalgamation of several themes explored above: the need to be a hero, overcoming disability to overachieve and the concept of pride in ‘doing one’s duty’: the flip side being a sense of shame through exclusion, through not participating in a society that overtly puts barriers in the way of that participation.

In the early years of World War One, before its horrors became apparent, we see how the propaganda machine of the UK, US and Australian governments took a jubilant approach: it depicted healthy young men heading off with their chums to the great adventure overseas; admiring (and passive – despite their huge contribution to the war effort) women waving them off.

Germans back!”).

The omission of those with disabilities is conspicuous, and would not have been lost on the disabled themselves, seeing these images and rallying calls to “Follow your Mates, Enlist” along with patriotic challenges (“Would you stand by while a bushfire raged? Get busy and drive the

Despite being excluded from the forces BY the forces via the Military Service Act 1916 exempting all “disabled or ill, or time-expired men”, the sense of shame is implicit. The ‘partition rather than participation’ model discussed above in terms of modern society existed here; with barriers put up by the State but the stigma being passed on to the disabled (as in the poster of a sitting parent, reading a newspaper being asked by his small child “Daddy, what did YOU do in the War?”).

This does not appear to be purely a by-product of the jubilant ableist recruitment posters: whilst women were not overtly involved in battle; they are constantly promoted in motivating posters of the time – showing attractive, young, fit and healthy subjects, sleeves rolled up, ‘doing their bit’ in munitions factories, on farms, in transport and communications and as medical staff. In contrast, similarly positive imagery of ‘less poster-friendly and idealised’ disabled people are tellingly hard to come by; buried in obscure reports and archived articles. Yet the disabled played a huge part in the war effort – in the US in World War Two around 3 million disabled men and women – the blind, deaf, physically impaired, and others – were engaged in the war industry.

A survey conducted by the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company showed how the participation of disabled persons increased; in munitions, back-filling civilian roles, aircraft radio operations etc. From 1940 to the end of 1941, disabled employment grew by 50%. From the end of 1941 to May of 1942, disabled employment grew by 300%. Yet not one patriotic poster exists in Allied literature extolling the virtues of these contributions.

Furthermore, literature of disability and the World Wars focusses almost exclusively on the able-bodied men who returned from the front line now disabled through horrific injuries or mental issues such as PTSD (then undiagnosed) and shellshock. These men were lauded, and the State undertook a complete overhaul of its resource planning in providing a modicum of security and treatment of these ‘heroes’.

Unlike their counterparts who did their bit on home soil, the term veteran became synonymous with heroics on the frontline and post-War service provision reflected that – another example of disabled people being elevated to the status of hero in order to serve the purpose of State morale.

And so we see a double-edged assault on the status of the disabled once again – both elements of which persist in the modern subconscious. Firstly, the issue of omission: disabled individuals are still a disproportionate rarity in societal representation, media portrayals and public figures – despite the recent awkward tokenism of media product. For the most part they are ignored.

And secondly when disabled people ARE given recognition it is through, as we have seen throughout this exhibition, overachieving - becoming superheroes themselves, not merely for their own fulfilment but as a visual demonstration of inclusion to salve our social conscience in the treatment of disability as a whole, not just those on the podium. Becoming, quite literally, poster men and women for our brave new and allegedly all-inclusive world.

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Cover Image: They Walk Among Us (detail) by John Brookes Above Image: Reaching for the Stars by John Brookes