Think Again

Think Again presents posters created by the Yugoslav artist collective IRWIN for the 1989-90 Slovenian National Theatre season. In 1984, the IRWIN artists joined with other artists to form the Neue Slowenische Kunst (New Slovenian Art) political art collective, or NSK. Aware that the government was co-opting artwork and images to bolster their power, NSK intentionally used only recycled images to challenge the authoritarian establishment. This exhibit examines how the IRWIN Collective artists used their artwork and design to undermine the oppressive communist regime of former Yugoslavia. Think Again is centered around IRWIN Collective posters, held in the College of DuPage Permanent Art Collection, which will be contextualized with historical information and showcased alongside contemporary designs. The title "Think Again" is related to the term "doublethink" introduced by George Orwell in the novel 1984. Orwell presented "Doublethink" as the act of holding two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, tricking oneself into accepting a false fact while forgetting you ever knew the truth. This concept parallels propaganda attempts by the Yugoslavia regime that the IRWIN Collective worked against.