Okay, so I can finally explain to you what all the mentions of Yoko Ono were around the exhibition last week…

Back in 2009, in an attempt to get some images we could use to lure sponsors and gain interest in Positive Posters, we sent a bunch of A0 posters with the PP Rabbit in the center and a city name on the bottom, to our friends living overseas. The idea was that they would get the poster, take a photo of themselves with it in front of a well known monument and send the photo to us. (See those photos here)

While all this was happening, I learned about the ‘War is Over’ poster campaign that was started and funded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono back in 1972 (more on this here). I saw some immediate similarities with what we were trying to do, and so I rolled up a poster and sent it to Yoko’s place in New York. With the poster was a letter from me explaining our intentions of starting an organisation called Positive Posters and that our aim was to give creative people a way of telling the world about important global issues.

•    •    •

Fast forward to October 2011 and I’m turning on my laptop on a Friday morning, a week after our 3rd competition had closed. To my surprise I find an email from in reply to my letter that I had sent 3 years earlier, offering to help promote the work we are doing.

I replied shortly after saying that yes, Positive Posters was still running and we had actually just finished our 3rd competition. I also asked if there was any way that they could think of for Yoko to get involved in PP. After a few days they replied saying that Yoko would like to enter a poster into our competition. The 2011 competition had already closed, but I suggested that we could include a poster by Yoko in our exhibition and write a blog post about it (this is the blog post).

Yoko Ono’s poster is simple, beautiful and has a very strong message. We all love it.

Last week I sent through three questions to Yoko, to be included in this post. Her answers (below), like her poster, were simple, clear and powerful. Thank you Yoko for getting involved and supporting what we are doing.

Q+A with Yoko Ono

PP: We believe that art/design is the best form of communication because, when done well, it can speak many many languages and convey complex ideas simply. Do you agree and do you have any thoughts or comments in response to that idea?
YO: Yes. I love the idea of I LOVE YOU, EARTH in different languages.

PP: Do you think it’s important for art/design to move out of a gallery and onto the streets and into the hands of people? If so, why?
YO: A gallery is a confined space. If it moves out in the streets, people might see it just from the car windows when they’re racing by.

PP: If you could give one message to creative people all over the world, what would it be?
YO: Do it.

Poster designed by Yoko Ono

Photos: John Deer
Yoko Ono: www.imaginepeace.com