The Lion and the EUnicorn

June 23rd 2016 - The population of the UK awoke to the news that the United Kingdom would be leaving the European Union. A referendum was held and the public had spoken - 51.9% of those who voted backed leaving the EU. This became commonly known as Brexit.

25th November 2018 - The Government publish the EU Draft Withdrawal Agreement, outlining the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union. It was not well received across the UK Parliament. Some felt it was too extreme, some felt it was not extreme enough. A big stumbling block became the method which safeguarded Ireland from needing a hard border. A new keyword appeared in the news - backstop. Out of curiosity I wondered how often this word appeared in the withdrawal agreement. Answer - once. Yet here it was holding up the entire process of leaving the EU.

I was intrigued to learn more about what was contained within the draft withdrawal agreement. History was something both sides of the referendum campaign referred to in an effort to embellish their ideas and opinions. This work combines text from the EU Draft Withdrawal Agreement with archival imagery. It is presented in the format of an A6 zine which has visual similarities with the UK passport.

Here is a sample of the final publication.