
Pasting Up Protest
The Art of Memorializing Violence in Mexican Printmaking
Annik Bilodeau(Author)
McGill-Queen's University Press
Will be published approx. on 14. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
342 pages
978-0-2280-2558-0 (ISBN)
Description
Across Mexico, human rights abuses take many forms, as do the strategies designed to denounce and resist them. Political street art thrives; murals, stencils, and posters challenge authorities and commemorate the missing and the disappeared.
Pasting Up Protest explores the sociopolitical engagement of contemporary Mexican artists, introducing the concept of memory activism, the guiding philosophy behind their efforts to expose human rights violations such as forced disappearances and feminicides. Through her analysis of street art interventions from the collectives ASARO, URT-Arte, ARMARTE, and MuGRe over the past decade, Annik Bilodeau argues that these artists are shaping a new collective memory. By depicting real-life victims and referencing past acts of state-sponsored violence, their works create a familiar visual vocabulary that elicits empathy and compassion in the viewer. A reliance on a tradition of printmaking, a highly reproducible medium, further amplifies the emotional impact of the images.
A critical examination of the role of art in creating public memory, Pasting Up Protest sheds light on how Mexican artists document crimes of the state, transforming citizens into political agents of change.
Pasting Up Protest explores the sociopolitical engagement of contemporary Mexican artists, introducing the concept of memory activism, the guiding philosophy behind their efforts to expose human rights violations such as forced disappearances and feminicides. Through her analysis of street art interventions from the collectives ASARO, URT-Arte, ARMARTE, and MuGRe over the past decade, Annik Bilodeau argues that these artists are shaping a new collective memory. By depicting real-life victims and referencing past acts of state-sponsored violence, their works create a familiar visual vocabulary that elicits empathy and compassion in the viewer. A reliance on a tradition of printmaking, a highly reproducible medium, further amplifies the emotional impact of the images.
A critical examination of the role of art in creating public memory, Pasting Up Protest sheds light on how Mexican artists document crimes of the state, transforming citizens into political agents of change.
Reviews / Votes
"Pasting Up Protest is both academically rigorous and accessible, highlighting innovative Mexican art and artists for a wide English-speaking audience." Livia K. Stone, Illinois State University "Pasting Up Protest is an engaging collection that documents how Mexican street art and political activism work together to help remake the social and political order." Holly Eva Ryan, Queen Mary University of LondonMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Montreal
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
42 photos, 1 table, colour insert
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
516 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-2280-2558-0 (9780228025580)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Annik Bilodeau is a researcher and educational developer at the University of Waterloo.
Content
Table, Figures, and Plates vii
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xix
Abbreviations xxvii
1
The Duty to Remember: Artistic Strategies for Resistance 3
2
"Pienso luego me desaparecen": Commemorating Ayotzinapa 42
3
Women Empowering Women 109
Conclusion 199
Epilogue 209
Notes 211
References 249
Index 275
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xix
Abbreviations xxvii
1
The Duty to Remember: Artistic Strategies for Resistance 3
2
"Pienso luego me desaparecen": Commemorating Ayotzinapa 42
3
Women Empowering Women 109
Conclusion 199
Epilogue 209
Notes 211
References 249
Index 275