Led by Donkeys

A REFUGEE’S STORY

The British group Led by Donkeys initially began to comment on politics with large-format ironic posters. They achieved greater visual power by enlarging their motifs by projecting them onto facades at night. As a counter-voice to the derogatory social media posts by politicians towards immigrants in 2020, Led by Donkeys interviewed a Syrian war refugee and presented him as a projection on the white cliffs of Dover. The following day, he was invited to appear on several TV programs where he gave his perspective on the refugee situation and made it clear that many refugees have helped during the pandemic in the UK.

IRANIAN EMBASSY

Following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran in 2020, who succumbed to her injuries in police custody after being arrested for not wearing her headscarf properly, many people in Iran and around the world have been campaigning with the slogan ‘Women. Life. Freedom.’ demonstrated. Led by Donkeys placed the situation in a wider context with their projection on the façade of the Iranian embassy in London. To the protest song ‘Baraye’, they showed earlier happy moments of demonstrators who were killed by the brutal Iranian regime.

LED BY DONKEYS

Led by Donkeys was founded in early 2019 when four friends, motivated by the thermonuclear hypocrisy of our political overlords, started going out at night to paste up guerrilla billboards of the leading Brexiters’ historic tweets. The 18 square metre posters were a phenomenon. With its social media following exploding, Led By Donkeys was suddenly reaching millions of people with every intervention and have continued their work addressing everything from the Covid crisis to corruption in Westminster. Led By Donkeys has mixed art and activism to create some of the most memorable images of our political age.

FEATURED IMAGE

Led by Donkeys: A Refugee’s Story. Dover 2020. Photo: Led by Donkeys.

LINKS

@ledbydonkeys