Mr Democracy is an international solo project by Oliver Walker. The project was exhibited at The Royal Standard, an artist run space in Liverpool, from 19th September – 30th November 2008.
A container was hired for the project, and the vinyl lettering installed on the rear side.
Photo: John O'Shea
The UK is one of only three countries in the world not to have a written constitution. In an ambitious international project exploring trade, democracy and globalisation, Mr Democracy undertakes the production of a UK constitution in China. Outsourcing content and production to China, the world’s fastest growing economy, Oliver Walker imports 1000 specially manufactured plastic toys into the UK that speak the new constitution.
See www.mrdemocracy.org.
The Mr Democracy exhibition consisted of a three channel video installation, and a shipping container outside. For the first four weeks of the exhibition the shipping container housed a flat screen monitor displaying the position of the original ship carrying the 1000 toys in real time, and for the remaining six weeks it stored and displayed the 1000 speaking dolls.
Democracy Research and Development
The constitution itself was developed in Shanghai, by 3 postgraduate constitutional law students from the East China University of Politics and Law. A brief was set and discussed, and the 3 lawyers were left to draft a new constitution for the UK, through research and broad sampling. The Chinese language version was then translated into English by an English and Law graduate.
Democracy Production
The constitution developed in Shanghai was then mass produced in the form of 1000 speaking dolls which speak the constitution when pressed (known as The New Constitution). The video documents work in 3 factories; the factory which produces the plastic molded toy (in Shantou, south China), one which makes the voice chip/circuit board for speaking the constitution, and a third which attaches and tests the voice chip (in Guangzhou, south China).
Importing Democracy
The New Constitutions were shipped back to the UK. The goods were packed into a container in Huang Pu port in Guangzhou, then transported by barge to Kwai Chung container base in Hong Kong, where it was loaded for the journey to Felixstowe.
