Artist asks, “Are you deVOTEd”?

A STUDENT from the Manchester School of Art has won a national competition searching for artworks that will inspire people to vote in the upcoming General Election. 

Jordan Alex Smith’s pen sketch plays on the word “devoted”, and will be used alongside works by famous artists Bob & Roberta Smith, Fatima Begum, Janette Parris and Jeremy Deller as part of Vote Art, a billboard campaign encouraging people to vote on May 7.

He said: “My art is made in my jotter with my trusty marker pen: the most devoted of all mediums. It’s minimal but serious, and I hope it will inspire people to think about the upcoming elections.”

A panel chaired by Chris Dercon, director of Tate Modern, and including the four artists, chose 22-year-old Jordan’s piece from dozens of entries. Jeremy Deller said: “We like its simplicity and it’s positive.”

“Rise up and vote!”

Deller continued: “During the election, political parties are going to put up posters asking you to vote for them. We are putting up posters, just asking you to vote. It’s a once-in-every-five years opportunity to engage in society, and I think we should take it by the horns. Youth of Britain – rise up and vote!”

The pieces will be exhibited on at least 10 commercial billboard sites across England, on 10,000 postcards and across social media, as well as an exhibition of the project at London’s Peckham Platform gallery from 2 April to 7 May.