‘Lying to the Queen Is Not a Good Look:’ UK Artists React to a Court’s Ruling That Boris Johnson’s Suspension of Parliament Was Unlawful

Boris Johnson chose designer Thomas Heatherwick’s
Vessel in New York’s Hudson Yards as the backdrop to
make his first public statement after hearing some very bad news
from back home in London. The UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled
this morning that the prime minister had acted “unlawfully” when he
suspended parliament, dragging the Queen into the Brexit political
crisis.

As the unrepentant politician cut short his visit to New York
for the United Nations general assembly  in order to fly back
to the UK and face parliament, he vowed to deliver Brexit by
October 31. He disagreed with the judges’ verdict, and also
downplayed the legislation passed earlier this month that would
make a Halloween Brexit illegal if he fails to make a deal with the
European Union first.

The artist known as Cold War Steve, whose satirical art about
Brexit has gone viral on Twitter, was quick to post his own visual
verdict on Johnson’s failed strategy, which even some in the prime
minister’s own conservative party feel has been reckless as well as
unconstitutional. (A former conservative prime minister was among
those who challenged Johnson’s actions in the Supreme Court.)

The civil servant turned satirical artist’s latest photomontage
shows Johnson walking away from a car crash accompanied by his
controversial chief strategist, Dominic Cummings. There have been
calls for both to resign, though that appears unlikely for the time
being, despite the momentous defeat in court. Johnson has not ruled
out trying again to suspend, or prorogue, parliament.

Cold War Steve, whose real name is Christopher Spencer, calls
today’s court ruling “a rare day of positive news.” The artist,
whose work is now on show at the Scottish National Gallery of
Modern Art, has been trolled for his often apocalyptic, satirical
photomontages. He says that he is expecting the pro-Brexit
right-wing press to declare the 11 judges the “enemy of the
people.”

The London-based, Guyana-born artist Hew Locke shares with
Spencer the widespread hope among both “Leavers” and “Remainers”
that the UK will find some way out of the polarizing Brexit crisis,
although that looks unlikely as long as Johnson’s premiership
lasts. Locke personally supports an extension to Brexit (Johnson
has said he would rather “die in a ditch”), and a second
referendum. In the meantime, artists, gallerists, and museums,
along with every other business in the UK, are being told by the
government to prepare for Britain to leave the European Union on
October 31.

The prime minister and his lawyers argued unsuccessfully in the
Supreme Court and before that in a Scottish court that suspending
parliament had nothing to do with stifling debate about Brexit.
“Lying to the Queen is not a good look,” Locke says.

Locke is familiar with the Supreme Court building, which stands
opposite the Houses of Parliament. He visited the court house while
researching his public art commission inspired by the Magna Carta.
It is sited at Runnymede outside London, where the famous charter
that is a symbol of political rights was signed by a reluctant king
in 1215. “It was empty at the time, but left a strong impression on
me,” he recalls of the building in the world’s media spotlight
today. “What fascinated me was how far the ruling went back in
history,” he says, referring to the days of hearings last week over
whether the prime minister’s actions were illegal and his advice to
the Queen to suspend parliament was truthful.

Locke speaks for many when he says that he feels grateful to the
campaigning businesswoman Gina Miller, who for the second time has
taken the UK government to court over Brexit, and won. Her stand
“took a lot of guts,” he says. She had to be protected by
bodyguards on her way to the court hearings, having received death
threats. Locke recalls knowing Miller when she was growing up in
Guyana. “My brother, sister, and I would regularly go over to her
house to play,” he recalls.

Hannes Koch, a co-founder of Berlin- and London-based art
collective and studio Random International, says that it is as if
the UK is suffering from a “collective iteration of Stockholm
Syndrome, held captive by a small bunch of reckless (and deluded)
amateur Machiavellis.”

Many expect a general election later this fall or early in the
New Year, while others urge a second referendum. Koch thinks a
general strike might be required to break the stalemate. “It
would,” he says, “send a strong signal to the UK’s European
partners that the country hasn’t lost its marbles.” In the meantime
Johnson should be “thrown in the Tower of London at once,” for
lying to the Queen, Koch says.

Thomas Heatherwick’s studio did not respond to a request for
comment.

The post ‘Lying to the Queen Is Not a Good Look:’ UK Artists
React to a Court’s Ruling That Boris Johnson’s Suspension of
Parliament Was Unlawful appeared first on artnet
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