Uncensored gallery - Index on Censorship

Charlotte Crawford

The Uncensored Gallery

Introducing

Charlotte Crawford

Charlotte Crawford (www.theautisticartist.com), from Berkshire in the UK, rediscovered her love for art during Covid. “I had no job and my mental health was at a very low point,” she says. After ending up in hospital, she was diagnosed as autistic aged 21.

She says, “There is a lack of knowledge and understanding when it comes to autism. More and more people are aware of the struggles autistic people face on a day-to-day basis but there is still a long way to go.”

Powerful

Charlotte Crawford

"Powerful is a mixed media artwork. I created this using minimal lines and bold blocks of colour. The repetitive lines were intended to mimic a fingerprint. I see links between the lines in the art and the natural lines in the centre of tree trunks.”

Tatyana Zelenskaia

The Uncensored Gallery

Introducing

Tatyana Zelenskaia

Tatyana Zelenskaia (instagram.com/tatyanazelenskaia) was born and grew up in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan and studied art at the National Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic. She majored in industrial graphics, but prefers to work in a more creative direction: illustration, animations, posters and contemporary art.

Zelenskaia’s work regularly covers themes such as feminism, violence and human rights and in March 2020, she was arrested for taking part in a women’s rights protest in the country. She won the 2021 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award in the arts category.

The watching eyes

Watching eyes

Tatyana Zelenskaia

The importance of the role of whistleblowers in exposing corruption and malpractice is well-established in law and rightly celebrated in a string of Hollywood movies from All the President’s Men to Erin Brockovich. But whistleblowers should also be celebrated as champions of free expression. The summer 2021 edition of Index on Censorship highlighted several prominent cases around the world. This artwork by a Kyrgyz artist who had faced attacks for her work graced the cover.

Badiucao

The Uncensored Gallery

Introducing

Badiucao

Badiucao calls himself a “Chinese Aussie artist hunted by the Chinese Government”.

Born in Shanghai, Badiucao was training to be a lawyer when he first became a convert to activism.
He was watching a pirated Taiwanese film with friends and, unbeknown to them, the film had the Tiananmen documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace spliced into it and the die was cast.

Later, recalling the incident to AFP, he said, "It was three hours, everybody just sat there and the room was completely dark, nobody even got up to turn on a light.”
He emigrated to Australia in 2009, abandoning his plan to become a lawyer. He began using his artistic talents in his spare time and, in 2011, starting drawing political cartoons, becoming a nagging thorn in the CCP’s side.

China's artful dissident

Artful dissident

Badiucao

Badiucao’s illustration for the cover of the spring 2021 issue of Index on Censorship magazine is typical of his work – striking and with a strong message to those who gaze upon it, reminding us of the West’s complicity in China’s rise to power.

Cutting comment

Badiucao

This magazine cover from our 2024 science issue, entitled Inconvenient Truths, revisits Andy Warhol’s famous picture of Albert Einstein.

Wilson Borja

The Uncensored Gallery

Introducing

Wilson Borja

Wilson Borja (wilsonborja.com) was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. He studied graphic design and has worked in illustration and animation.

His recent work has been inspired by the African diaspora and migration and his exhibition at Bogotà’s African Diaspora Gallery in 2019 was focused on this topic.

Balance

Wilson Borja

This illustration from the cover of our autumn 2022 magazine includes plant species Borja collected from Colombia's Pacific coast, where most people are of African descent.

Lumli Lumlong

The Uncensored Gallery

Introducing

Lumli Lumlong

A London-based Hong Kong artist couple in exile, Lumli Lumlong (www.lumlilumlong.com), both were born into working-class families and studied fine art in France. They create grotesque-style oil paintings reflecting social realities. The left side of all their artworks are painted by husband, Lumlong, and the right by wife, Lumli.

Their work has been exhibited internationally, in cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, and New York, as well as in museums, galleries, and at the European and UK Parliaments. They have been selected for the London Art Biennale 2025.

Apple Man

Lumli Lumlong

"Your hands cannot silence my voice because thoughts have always been free."

This artwork was unveiled at a 2023 exhibition by Index on Censorship in London, commemorating jailed publisher Jimmy Lai.

Long-Armed People

Lumli Lumlong

The artists said of this work: “When you think you’ve left your homeland and escaped it, it reappears. When you believe you’re sitting safely at home, it’s watching you. When transnational repression has penetrated deep into your bones, your only option is to overcome fear and rise to resist it.”