Carola Rackete Becomes Icon: Posters, Drawings, Graphics Flood the Web
The Sea-Watch 3 incident has turned Carola Rackete into a media icon, sparking a wave of creative responses online. After forcing a blockade and docking at Lampedusa on June 29, 2019, the German captain was arrested but later released on July 2 when a judge ruled the security decree did not apply to rescue actions. In solidarity, artists and illustrators have produced dozens of images, posters, and memes under the hashtag #freecarola. Notable contributions include TvBoy's street art showing Rackete breaking handcuffs with the slogan 'Life is Life'; Vauro's and Gianluca Costantini's illustrations for Left magazine; Mannelli's sketch for Il Fatto Quotidiano; Ma Pe's 'Stay Human'; Coqui Peirano Dibujos' 'Salvar vidas no es ilegal'; Mike Murrillo's pop-style poster for La Guarimba film festival; MusArts Ology's reinterpretation of Delacroix's 'Liberty Leading the People'; and a design by Barcelona studio Pensament Gràfic turning the 'O' in Carola into lifebuoys. The Centro delle Donne di Bologna shared a photo of Rackete with Antigone's cover. The images serve as a counter-campaign to the government's xenophobic propaganda, highlighting the moral versus legal dilemma of rescue at sea.
Key facts
- Carola Rackete forced the blockade and docked at Lampedusa on June 29, 2019.
- She was arrested but released on July 2, 2019, when a judge ruled the security decree inapplicable to rescue actions.
- Artists created dozens of images, posters, and memes under #freecarola.
- TvBoy depicted Rackete breaking handcuffs with 'Life is Life'.
- Vauro and Gianluca Costantini contributed illustrations for Left magazine.
- Mannelli sketched Rackete for Il Fatto Quotidiano with a pun on 'attracco'.
- MusArts Ology reimagined Delacroix's 'Liberty Leading the People' with Rackete's face.
- Pensament Gràfic designed a poster with the 'O' in Carola as lifebuoys.
Entities
Artists
- Carola Rackete
- TvBoy
- Vauro
- Gianluca Costantini
- Mannelli
- Ma Pe
- Coqui Peirano Dibujos
- Mike Murrillo
- Shepard Fairey
- Roberto Vecchioni
- Aldo Cazzullo
- Matteo Salvini
- Giorgia Meloni
- Giuseppe Conte
- Luigi Di Maio
- Abramo Lincoln
Institutions
- Sea-Watch 3
- Centro delle Donne di Bologna
- La Guarimba
- MusArts Ology
- Pensament Gràfic
- Left
- Il Fatto Quotidiano
- Corriere della Sera
- Repubblica
- Artribune
Locations
- Lampedusa
- Italy
- Sicily
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Bologna
- Europe