James Lillis

Okay… I have to say that feel really uncomfortable blowing the proverbial ‘own horn’, but, hey, it’s a press release… what else am I meant to do?

If you don’t like listening to shameless boasting, please move along…. :)

For this

MTV DECLARES CONTROVERSIAL AUSTRALIAN DESIGN BEST OF THE OBAMA PARODIES

Shepard Faireys’ iconic hope poster spawned hundreds of parodies, but last week, the MTV blog named their pick for the best of them – ‘JOKE’ by Brisbane based designer James Lillis. Editor Casey Seijas said that of the countless riffs on the image, none could top the Australian designer’s contribution.

The design features Heath Ledger’s disturbing portrait of the Joker in place of the election winner, and the word “JOKE’ replacing the word ‘HOPE’

The design has also proved a controversial one, with many Obama supporters feeling that it was a slur on the president elect. Mr Lillis stirred additional controversy in an interview with Wired magazine regarding the image when he stated “Democracy is overrated”.

Mr Lillis later defended the image saying:

“The picture is certainly not intended as a slur on Barack Obama – I really just wanted to capture the zeitgeist of 2008. I think that picture, and those two individuals really sum up – for me at least – the year 2008.”

Regardless of the political overtones, the graphic has certainly been popular, with thousands of dollars worth of ‘JOKE’ tee shirts and posters being sold all over the world in the first two days.

The image can be viewed at: http://www.redbubble.com/people/jameslillis/clothing/1953509-2-the-audacity-of-joke