Murray derived this image from a photograph in David Goldblatt's historic book On the Mines (1973), a project that explores the harsh realities of mining in South Africa. The muzzled face appeared on posters and stickers for Save the Press, a short-lived grassroots campaign formed in Cape Town by journalists in reaction to draconian restrictions imposed by the apartheid government on the freedom of the press. The degraded image, made via repeated photocopying and collage, recalls an infamous 1977 Sex Pistols' poster (God Save the Queen, by Jamie Reid), in which Queen Elizabeth II's eyes and mouth are collaged over; Murray was briefly involved with a postpunk band in the early 1980s and had created many posters in this spirit.

Gallery label from

Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now.

Medium Offset-printed sticker
Dimensions composition: 5 7/8 x 2 1/4" (15 x 5.7 cm); sheet: 5 7/8 x 2 1/4" (15 x 5.7 cm)
Designer Brett Murray
Publisher Save The Press Campaign, Cape Town
Printer Esquire Press (Pty) Ltd., Cape Town
Edition probably several thousand
Credit The Ralph E. Shikes Fund
Object number 1109.2007
Department Drawings and Prints

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