November 4, 2012
"To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its 30 articles have been simplified
and drawn by 29 internationally renowned illustrators, with royalties going to
Amnesty
. It is shocking to be reminded how few of the declaration's clauses are practised - including "Nobody has any right
to hurt us or to torture us", and "We all have the right to a home." The text is clearly valuable as a set of ideals for life
(and rules for the playground); the pictures are inventive rather than literal. They vary in tone - from comic to serious,
childlike to sophisticated, fantastical to realistic - and use media ranging from collage to screen prints. The South African
Niki Daly depicts a statue of Nelson Mandela in a freedom park; Jane Ray's damaged rag doll illustrates torture; Polly Dunbar
comes down to a child's level to communicate the idea of being innocent until proven guilty; and Alan Lee shows paper planes
carrying messages caught on the barbed wire of a wall to provoke thought about our freedom to travel. Meanwhile, David Tennant's
introduction suggests, appealingly, that, although Dr Who is 903 and not human, he probably has the declaration pinned up
in the Tardis." - The Sunday Times - November 9, 2008
- Nicolette Jones
"To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its 30 articles have been simplified
and drawn by 29 internationally renowned illustrators, with royalties going to
Amnesty
. It is shocking to be reminded how few of the declaration's clauses are practised - including "Nobody has any right
to hurt us or to torture us", and "We all have the right to a home." The text is clearly valuable as a set of ideals for life
(and rules for the playground); the pictures are inventive rather than literal. They vary in tone - from comic to serious,
childlike to sophisticated, fantastical to realistic - and use media ranging from collage to screen prints. The South African
Niki Daly depicts a statue of Nelson Mandela in a freedom park; Jane Ray's damaged rag doll illustrates torture; Polly Dunbar
comes down to a child's level to communicate the idea of being innocent until proven guilty; and Alan Lee shows paper planes
carrying messages caught on the barbed wire of a wall to provoke thought about our freedom to travel. Meanwhile, David Tennant's
introduction suggests, appealingly, that, although Dr Who is 903 and not human, he probably has the declaration pinned up
in the Tardis." - The Sunday Times - November 9, 2008
- Nicolette Jones
