The Cuban OSPAAAL is the private poster collection of Michael Tyler. The collection has over 100  posters that represent Fidel Castro’s support for the numerous independence movements that rose up during the period of de-colonisation following WWII.  They are essentially a graphic archive of the Cold War era covering conflicts throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America as well as the Civil Rights movement in the US.  The main theme is anti-colonialism –  stylistically the artists used simple weaponry such as spears to represent the ‘primitive’ savages rising up against their ‘imperial masters’, chains reflecting slavery, barbed wire depicting oppression. Parts of the collection were displayed in the UK last year and the posters will continue to travel to new destinations, as several museums have expressed an interest in displaying them. Here we share 10 images from the collection. Want to see more? Check out the images of the Glasgow exhibition here.

What do you think about these posters? Would you wan to see this exhibition?

Featured Images (Hi-res scans courtesy of Lincoln Cushing / Docs Populi):

Image 1: Africa, 1968, Lazaro Abreu / Emory Douglas

Image 2: Day of solidarity with the people of South Africa, 1968, Berta Abelénda

Image 3: Day of solidarity with the people of Palestine, 1968, Berta Abelénda

Image 4: For an Independent South Yemen, 1969, Artist Unknown

Image 5: Day of solidarity with the Japanese people, 1969, Guillermo Menéndez

Image 6: Together with Vietnam, 1971, Ernesto Padrón

Image 7: Solidarity with Latin America, 1970, Asela Perez

Image 8: Radiant Che, 1969, Alfredo Rostgaard

Image 9: Day of solidarity with the Afro-American People, 1968, Daysi Garcia

Image 10: Queens house of detention, 1975, Daysi Garcia