Thomas Kuijpers

FILTER: DESTRUCTIVE FORCES AT WORK

Thomas Kuijpers delivers visual commentary on the way media representation affects us. Because of the way in which jihadism is reported, for example, the mere word Jihadism evokes feelings of anxiety in us. It has become a container term for hatred, threats and death that becomes more powerful each day. The container opens daily, confronting us with its contents.

Kuijpers took the challenge to open the container itself, to empty it and fill it with new connections. How jihadism is covered reminded him of how sports are reported: in terms of winning, losing, another victory, using strong language, etc. He decided to combine the term ‘jihad’ with sports jargon and developed merchandise like a baseball jacket, a shirt and a banner with the slogan ‘Go Jihadis!’ His aim was to get rid of the term’s shady associations – to dismantle the’ word bomb ‘- and create a whole new concept.

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