Heavy Heart

War Boutique (the artist alias of Kevin Leahy) was established in 2003 in direct response to the escalation of the Iraq War. With a politically provocative ethos, War Boutique aims to challenge, critique, and agitate the violence-driven, political climates of contemporary culture through his limited edition prints and sculptures. ‘Heavy Heart’ uses a ceramic plate, wrapped with khaki coloured, military MoD and spray-painted with a large, red heart.

Within the heart, the words ‘This Side Away From Body Handle With Care’ can be dimly made out, while the back of the sculpture bears the stamp of the ballistic nylon, imprinted with the words ‘Protective Plate Body Armour MK2’. The use of military material in a message of peace and love, is truly powerful and visually arresting: a brilliant, political comment on 2017s increasingly warmongering mood.

About The Artist - War Boutique

War Boutique was created in 2003 by Kevin Leahy, as a reaction to the invasion of Iraq by US and UK armed forces. Kevin Leahy is a Scottish designer who has developed a satirical look at war during his study and his work as a designer for defensive equipment. Through the artistic theory, War Boutique aims to record the events that all too readily escape the advertising space, documenting them as pieces of social commentary, within an historical context.

War Boutique was brought into the public eye back in 2009 when Kevin’s work featured in a BBC4 programme and it has developed further over the years, through a series of workshops, exhibitions and fashion shows, in conjunction with local and national organisations such as the ‘Peace Not War Cooperative’ and ‘Save The Children’. Take a look at a selection of historical art prints from War Boutique.

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