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Visual protest survives and inspires
Two free exhibitions on social and political dissent at the V&A museum are well worth a visit, says Christine Lindey

The issues addressed in the major exhibition Disobedient Objects at the V&A are as big as they come. They range from calls for peace, ecological balance and colonial liberation to campaigns for sexual, racial and gender equality to struggles against apartheid, capitalism, austerity, nuclear weapons and dictatorships. 

On show are works from the late-1970s to the present, ranging from high-tech computer games to low-tech badges and pamphlets to hand-crafted banners, placards and giant puppets. 

These objects of dissent are fashioned from materials as varied as a tear-gas mask from a recycled water bottle, foam and elastic bands and  the “Flone” — a DIY open-sourced drone powered by a mobile phone. 

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