Billboards let us look back at 50 years gay liberation

50 years ago an important step was taken in England and Wales in decriminalizing homosexuality. On 27th July 1967, the Sexual Offences Act became law. Homosexual acts between two men became legal from then on. Artist Martin Firrell has created six digital billboards to stand still at this milestone.

Firrell made, together with human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, 6 digital billboards which are now being displayed across England and Wales. The project is called Remember 1967 and refer to demands made by 1960s activists and still have an activist tone today. The billboards are made in black and white as an additional reference to remember 1967.

The project is an attempt for a renewed debate about sexuality and gender roles. The current debate on gender neutral communication by Transport for London (TfL) fits in well with the work of Firrell.

On the artists website all 6 billboards are explained briefly.

Firrell about ‘Men Still Dominate’, in my view the most relevant today:

1960s gay and women’s rights campaigners observed that British society was dominated at every level by men and that those men naturally had an interest in holding onto power. 50 years later, British society in 2017 is still dominated at every level by men. The call for an end to the rigid gender-role system is as urgent today as it was 50 years ago.

Creative Review did a great coverage of the project. Read and see it here.