A Half Moon Photography Workshop Touring Exhibition

Exhibition Poster, A Document on Chile, Peter Kennard and Ric Sissons, Half Moon Gallery, London,1978

A Document on Chile is a collaborative exhibition created in 1978 by photomontage artist Peter Kennard and journalist Ric Sissons in response to the 1973 military coup in Chile. Kennard created thirty photomontages in the tradition of the anti-fascist montage artist John Heartfield, using striking visual narratives to expose state violence, repression, and human rights abuses by the Pinochet Regime. Sissons contributed explanatory, historical, and political commentary, ensuring audiences grasped both the immediate and global significance of the events portrayed. Together they recounted Chile’s history, from the years prior to Allende, through his Popular Unity government, to the brutal repression under Pinochet’s regime.

Conceived as a touring exhibition and one of the pioneering laminated shows by the Half Moon Photography Workshop, the images and texts were mounted on card panels heat-pressed between thin plastic sheets. This durable, portable format enabled the exhibition to travel widely across the UK, reaching diverse audiences beyond traditional gallery spaces. The touring nature was integral to fostering support for the Chilean exile diaspora and raising awareness of the abuses under Pinochet. It played a vital role in UK solidarity campaigns during the 1970s and 1980s by making political art accessible and sustaining resistance through powerful visual storytelling.

A Document on Chile, Peter Kennard and Ric Sissons, Camden Town Hall, London, 1978.

The thirty works of photomontage and text fall into three groups

1.    The years prior to the 1970 Presidential election victory of Allende.

2.    The three years of the ‘Unidad Popular’ Government of Allende that culminated in the armed forces seizing power through a coup d’état.

3.    The years since the death of Allende which have witnessed terrible repression against the Chilean workers and peasants.

The combination of Kennard’s searing photomontages and Sissons’ incisive text made the exhibition a compelling fusion of art and journalism, exposing injustice and mobilising international support. Their work remained politically charged over decades, enduring censorship yet continuing to inspire activism by visually communicating ongoing struggles related to democracy, inequality, and repression in Chile and beyond.

Peter Kennard, Chile, September 11 1973

In 1985, Peter Kennard held a retrospective exhibition titled Images Against War 1965-1985 at the Barbican Arts Centre in London. However, the day before it opened, Henry Wrong, the centre’s director, demanded the removal of two photomontages Kennard had created in 1973 in response to the Chilean military coup. The reason for this censorship was that Midland Bank (now HSBC) had booked the Barbican cinema for a meeting of Pinochet's finance officials and British bankers, who would have to walk past the exhibition. Kennard refused to remove the works, and neither did the staff who had installed the exhibition. The following morning, the larger image was covered with a moth-eaten blanket hung from the ceiling, and the smaller piece was taken down.

This act of censorship sparked public outcry, with commentators highlighting how the Barbican effectively bowed to corporate interests connected to the regime. Kennard chose to leave the exhibition as it was, allowing the blanket and empty space to stand as an additional statement against the coup, its financial backers, and the silencing of dissent.

Peter Kennard, News Cutting, Morning Star, July 17 1985

Kennard’s photomontages continued to serve as powerful symbols of resistance well beyond the 1970s. His striking images were frequently used as placards and posters in demonstrations throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. Notably, in December 1998, his artwork was prominent during protests outside London’s high-security Belmarsh Magistrates Court when Augusto Pinochet was arrested under an international warrant.

Peter Kennard (centre) and others behind images from his ‘Unwords’ series as they await Pinochet’s arrival, Belmarsh magistrates, 12 December, 1998.

The placards resonated deeply with Chilean exiles and activists, visually connecting the protest to the regime’s violent history. By distilling complex political realities into visceral and accessible imagery, Kennard’s photomontages, connect political art with the ongoing fight for justice and human rights. 

This legacy was reaffirmed in 2023 when A Document on Chile was restaged at Four Corners Gallery as part of Chile 50: Political Art, Solidarity and Resistance. The exhibition juxtaposed Kennard’s 1970s photomontages with arpilleras, hand-sewn textile artworks made by Chilean women during the dictatorship, and  capturing the large-scale social protests of 2019-2022. By placing Kennard’s images alongside contemporary photographs of ongoing political struggles, the exhibition revealed the continuities of oppression, resistance, and solidarity in Chile’s history. It demonstrated how Kennard’s visual language of critique and activism still speaks to today’s movements for democracy and justice, emphasising the sustained power of political art to inform, mobilise, and inspire across generations.