Repulsion
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| Poster Origin : | United Kingdom |
| Poster Size : | British Quad Crown / 40 x 30" |
| Poster Artist : | Jan Lenica |
| Poster Year : | 1965 |
| Poster Version : | First Release |
| Film Origin : | United Kingdom |
| Film Director : | Roman Polanski |
| Film Year : | 1965 |
Probably the first poster that brought Jan Lenica’s work into prominence from behind the Iron Curtain, and one of several he designed for the films of Roman Polanski.
With irregular composition and sexual overtone this is one of the great examples from the 60s that challenged conventions, and audiences, with more abstract and avant-garde offerings. The visual rhetoric is several steps more sophisticated than the hackneyed poster formulas favoured in the US at the time, demonstrating how film posters can perturb and provoke while resisting the urge to shock.
The asymmetric layout and dismal tone articulate a sense of unease, as the illustration defines Carol’s debilitating isolation and hallucinatory episodes, and the acts that fuel her psychosis; the prostrate, withering figure is molested by phantom hands, beautifully expressed through the most perfect use of negative space.
The same artwork was used on a re-release poster a few years later, but limited to a two-colour print of just black & blue. That version is rather insipid by comparison, but often sought as an alternative to this original pressing, which is seldom seen. Lenica also produced an alternative design for German theatres.