United Color, printed sticker addition to existing posters in various locations, Budapest, April 2004.

Whilst back in Budapest in 2004, I noticed some posters pasted around the city for the former governing and right leaning political party, Fidesz, as part of their campaign in an upcoming referendum. The image on the poster used the national flag as a backdrop, in front of which could be seen the hands of five (basically white skinned people) gripping each others forearms, in an interlocking circular formation suggesting national unity. Something about the contemporary photographic and print quality, the bright primary colours, and the symbolic use of skin colour reminded me of the images used by Benetton in their "United Colors" advertising poster campaigns. Benetton's images often depict different cultures and skin colours united in happy harmony against a background of simple flag-like colours. Whilst they clearly represent an unrealistic fantasy world, which decontextualises and oversimplifies complex and problematic social relations, the Fidesz poster, in contrast, contained only one 'united color' and in doing so made no concessions (even at the level of polite 'political correctness') to an inclusiveness of other cultures in their image of national unity.

Through a strategy of 'affirmation' – an ironic attempt to identify with an opinion or cause, in order to highlight or (overstate to point of absurdity) an underlying message - the omission of any other skin colors, was emphasised on some small stickers printed with the statement "United Color of Hungary" that were placed on some of the existing posters, in the centre of the image where the white part of the Hungarian flag is a background.