This poster confronts a European and a Māori perspective of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the arrival of James Cook in New Zealand.
The European perspective celebrates the discovery of New Zealand by James Cook. It occupies more than half of the surface of the poster (7/12). The text is set in Helvetica, the iconic typeface of the International Style, with a lot of white space. The colors of the text and background are taken from the colors of the flag of New Zealand. The word 'New Zealand' is capitalized and also emphasized through the use of a white outline which reminds of the outlines present on the New Zealand flag.
In the center, the Cook 250 occupies the smallest band (2/12). The logo evokes the Coca-Cola brand through its corporate white and red colors and its swash lines, as a reference to coca-colonization, "a process of change that happens everywhere a militarily and/or culturally advanced culture comes into contact with another culture with the intention of establishing settlements". The shapes of the logo are also based on the actual signature of James Cook, which refines the association with the British colonization initiated through James Cook's exploration.
The logo looks ambiguous. It can be turned around and read with a different meaning upside down: this is an ambigram. Turning the poster reveals this opposite meaning, 'sos chaos', and allows to read the text in the Māori perspective, written upside down compared to the European perspective.
The Māori perspective presents an obituary of Te Maro, the first victim, of a long list, of explorers lead by James Cook. It occupies the remaining part of the poster (3/12). This In Memoriam is presented both in Te Reo Māori and in English, side by side. It puts the European invasion and pretended discovery of New Zealand with the long voyaging tradition of the Māori and their much earlier settlement of Aotearoa long before it was renamed to New Zealand by European explorers.
- Poster in Scribus format
- Copy for the poster
- In Memoriam in English (TXT and RTF)