Casgliadau Arlein

Patch 'Transphobia in Wales? Dim Diolch!', 2022. Made from turmeric dyed calico, screen printed with red ink. Print is of a red splotch with a smiley face, surrounded by the above lettering. Edges folded back in a single turn-back and stitched in place with machine stitches using black thread on the front and white thread on the reverse. There are pin holes in all four corners which suggest that the patch was once held in place with tacks.

Reg Phillips is a member of the S.P.A.F. Collective and stated that “This patch was designed in 2021 and takes visual inspiration from Anne Lunde's 1975 "Nuclear Power? No Thanks!" smiling sun design. The patch exists to promote joy and condemn transphobia in Wales. The design has also been made into badges, vinyl stickers, and a large felted banner that was used to march in the 2022 Pride parade in Cardiff to protest against the rise of transphobic attitudes in Wales. It's one of our most popular designs among the Welsh trans community, with its significance being that it was made by queer people for queer people. In contrast to much of the corporate pride merch available, something made 'in house' by working class queer people comes from a more authentic place and therefore resonates deeply with the LGBTQ+ community”. They also stated that "S.P.A.F Collective is heavily inspired by slogans and designs from vintage anti-capitalist queer badges, stickers and t-shirts because they echo a hope for something more than assimilation. They conjured queer utopias where all queer people are free to live how they want and everyone has more than enough to eat. Old queer anti fascist patches and badges were intended to let any passing fascist know that they are your enemy, and to let any passing queers know that they have a comrade in you - in equal measures. Obviously, slogans aren’t going to save us. They’re not going to fix the broken state we live in, or stop anyone getting queerbashed. But what they do give us is hope for a better world; it allows us, as a community, to be visible, in turn helping people feel safer."