Paste-Up To Stand-UP

“A PROJECT brought forth by my frustration with the current political discourse and economic strain.”
- AT (2025)

“I’ve always been inspired by the raw passion that is the basis of punk subculture. Much like the present, 1970’s punk was a cultural movement that spoke to young people who were pessimistic about their future because of the harsh economic conditions. As a result, this gave people a space to express themselves and their anger in the rubble of political and social malaise through the movement’s established principles of DIY, accessibility, and freedom. Punks diy ethos resulted in accessible visual art such as graffiti and graphic posters wheat-pasted throughout the streets, which is something still very much prevalent today.”

- AT

What inspired the project?

What was the source of your anger?

“I was fed up with all the injustices of those in power. From brutal wars to stripping away women’s and queer people’s rights. Creating these fliers was triggered by my initial fear turned anger when witnessing the disgusting rise in neo-nazi culture, femicide, the Matthew effect (the rich get richer while the poor get poorer), rise in homophobia/transphobia and racism. It’s striking to see how the speedy rise in this mentality causes those fueled by hate to speak up and act out against minorities. I became appalled at how the public mentality is going backward.”

- AT

What do you want people to

take away from this project?

“These fliers aimed to inspire everyday people to reconnect with their punk heritage and actively take charge. I want to see more people not just sit around and talk on an online forum, but to utilise their skills to make a real impact, no matter how small.

I want people to act out! Graffiti in bathroom stalls, draw up fliers, scream your beliefs, protest, make yourself heard, support small communities, help and care for each other! It’s rough out there at the moment, but we will always have each other. I fear we have forgotten the power of community.

I used what I had access to create these fliers: Pencils, paper, a free editing app and an Office-Works printer. I printed off as many as I could afford and went around the city with friends, giving them some to take and stick wherever they wanted, and pasted them up with home-made wheat paste. utilising my community to make this project happen.”

- AT