Exercise: Ihi Wehi in the environment

We looked at a selection of posters that displayed the Ihi and Wehi components to create an impactful message between themselves and the audience.

As Group 1, we looked at image set A.

One - 

Ihi - dominance, trapped in a corner, oppression, power, feels like there is no escape for the boy, scale. Use of juxtaposition, using scale as a key strategy. Highlighting a new hazard of motorbiking in the 1930s.

Wehi - you feel helpless and anxious for the child who appears to be in danger.

Two - 

Ihi - Humour, pop-arty, childish colours, they go together - they need each other. Children’s dental hygiene campaign? Personification of inanimate objects to help us form relationships and personalities between them, hugging. 

Wehi - friendly and happy (making your toothbrush happy by reuniting them), makes toothbrushing friendly.

Three- 

Ihi - How the government has rights over everything - they have the power over individuals and their rights, about abortion, and how the government needs to approve consent for a woman to “remove a substance from this area” (her womb). Accompanied by the words “Preserve the rights (of women)”. Juxtaposition of the sign over the woman gives it a different meaning than usual - subversion.

Wehi - The sign makes me feel uneasy, it shows power and authority. 

Four - 

Ihi - The liquid (alcohol) literally distorts the face of the person, he is trapped inside the restraints of the glass, and therefore in his alcohol addiction. “When alcohol distorts reality… Librium - an important aid in the treatment of alcoholism”. He has a thinking face on - is he contemplating a change for the better? Think before drinking. Inside the liquid of the glass, he doesn’t look human anymore. Juxtapostion of the glass over the man is combined by words about alcohol distorting reality to create a new meaning to his distortion.

Wehi - Sobering, depressing poster. Makes us think about the effect that it has, like the man inside the glass is.

Five - 

Ihi - monochromatic, formal, Parody (but respectful). Advertising a Piano Concert but also Commemorating the Twin Towers/World Trade Centre which is shown in the two black piano keys, that represent the towers (they are the same shape). Comparing the piano keys to the towers (juxtaposition?) but only showing the keys. Looking at something normal (keyboard) in a new way to mean something else - subversion.

Wehi - Respectful, contemplative, reflective.