Free South Africa 3 Keith Haring

KEITH HARING, FREE SOUTH AFRICA 3, FREE SOUTH AFRICA SERIES, SIGNED LITHOGRAPH, EDITION OF 60, 1985

Keith Haring’s print Free South Africa 3 from 1985 is exemplary of the way in which the artist used his playful figurative style to tackle social injustices around the world, notably racism and apartheid in South Africa. Printing and distributing around 20,000 poster versions of this print in New York City in 1986, Haring worked tirelessly to mobilise support against apartheid.

Plate 3 from the Free South Africa series features two numbered frames depicting two stick figures in a struggle with one another. Using his bold, linear style Haring represents the relationship between the black majority and white minority in South Africa during years of institutionalised racial segregation. The black figure on the left is rendered much larger than the white figure, symbolising the substantial disparity between the black majority and the few white people that had political and social power at the time. Haring clearly conveys this inequality of the white man’s power by showing the white figure with a rope around the black figure’s neck. 

As with his other activist works, Haring uses a simplified visual language of recognisable symbols to convey the complex and troubling subject matter. The presence of radiating lines and dashes work to bring movement to the image, conveying the rage of the black figure and worry of the white figure who is about to be crushed. Haring playfully offers the viewer a glimpse of hope for the future by depicting the black figure crushing the white figure that represents this inequality.

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ABOUT KEITH HARING

Known for his bold graphic style and playful sense of humour, Keith Haring is one of the most influential and adored artists of the 20th century.

Born in Pennsylvania, in 1958, Haring was a talented draughtsman as a child and developed his cartoonish style at the hands of his father and the work of Walt Disney and Dr Seuss. However it would take some time before he realised he could marry this kind of drawing with being a fine artist. Upon graduating from high school he enrolled in a commercial art school before realising he had little interest in pursuing a career as an illustrator or graphic designer. After dropping out of college he joined the hippie movement and hitchhiked across the country where he made anti-Nixon t-shirts to pay for food and Grateful Dead tickets. Learn more about Keith Haring.