Citation

Lisle D. Altern. Global Local Polit. 2006; 31(1): 27-52.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/030437540603100102

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Traditionally, the political murals of Belfast have been understood as expressions of either loyalist or republican communities, a reading that reduces the complex struggles of Northern Ireland into a simple conflict between two groups. This article rereads the murals through the specific context of the peace process, in which the "two communities" thesis is losing its relevance. It suggests that when the murals are understood through three, wider networks—production, signification, and reception—it is possible to see how they disrupt ongoing debates about public art, make explicit gestures to other international conflicts (such as the hunger strikers in Turkey), and encourage a new form of political tourism. Rereading the murals in this way reveals the multiple global networks that the city of Belfast is linked into, networks that are silenced by a traditional "two communities" framework.