Untitled

The image depicts a woman in a dark dress controlling two puppets: one dressed as a doctor, the other holding a sign. The puppets symbolize manipulated institutions, while the woman represents public agency. Below, a building suggests the hospital under threat. Textual slogans—'Save the South London Hospital' and 'Make your voice heard'—frame the work as a call to civic action, linking personal responsibility to institutional accountability.

The print employs bold, flat areas of color—yellow background, red and black text—creating strong visual legibility. Lines are clean and unadorned, typical of screen printing’s capacity for sharp, reproducible imagery. The stylized figures and simplified architecture reflect a populist aesthetic, prioritizing clarity and emotional impact over realism, aligning with community-based art practices of the era.

Produced by the Battersea Prints Workshop, a collective of local artists and activists in southwest London, the print was made to support a campaign against the proposed closure of the South London Hospital. Distributed widely in the area, it was later acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of its documentation of British social and political graphics from the late 20th century.

In the late 1980s, public health services in the UK faced significant budget cuts and restructuring. Community groups responded with visual campaigns to mobilize support. The Battersea Prints Workshop emerged from this climate, using accessible print techniques to translate local grievances into public art. This work is one of many such efforts that blurred the lines between activism and design.

The print remains a tangible record of community-led resistance to institutional neglect. It exemplifies how non-professional collectives used low-cost, high-impact methods to influence public discourse. Its presence in a major national museum underscores its role in expanding the definition of political art beyond traditional fine art channels.