69
The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath: Environmental
artivism and the visual impacts of metaphors
Anaïs Augé, UCLouvain (anais.auge@uclouvain.be)
Abstract
This paper investigates the visual metaphors identified during two performances produced
by the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion: the Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood
Bath. These performances use BLOOD as a visual source concept at play during environmental
protests. The different conceptualisations of BLOOD and the arguments promoted during each
performance shed light on the visual metaphor scenario SHARED ENVIRONMENTAL
CIRCUMSTANCES AS COMMON BLOOD. I thus ask how the different uses of the scenario may
affect the public while raising awareness about the climate crisis. On the one hand, I
demonstrate that the Red Rebel Brigade relies on artistic features to depict Extinction
Rebellion’s vision of an ideal world. On the other hand, I establish that the Blood Bath relies
on more explicit conceptualisations to make environmental damages visible to the public.
Der Beitrag untersucht visuelle Metaphern, die während zweier Aufführungen der Umweltbewegung
Extinction Rebellion, Red Rebel Brigade und Blood Bath, identifiziert werden
konnten. Diese Performances nutzen BLOOD als visuelles Quellkonzept bei Umweltprotesten.
Die unterschiedlichen Konzeptualisierungen von BLOOD und die während jeder Aufführung
vorgebrachten Argumente werfen Licht auf das visuelle Metaphernszenario SHARED
ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES AS COMMON BLOOD. Es wird gefragt, wie sich die
unterschiedlichen Nutzungen des Szenarios auf die Öffentlichkeit auswirken und gleichzeitig
das Bewusstsein für die Klimakrise schärfen können. Einerseits wird gezeigt, dass die Red
Rebel Brigade auf künstlerische Elemente setzt, um Extinction Rebellions Vision einer idealen
Welt darzustellen. Andererseits ist festzustellen, dass Blood Bath auf expliziteren
Konzeptualisierungen beruht, um Umweltschäden für die Öffentlichkeit sichtbar zu machen.
1. Introduction
Since the 1990s, environmental scientists have evidenced the human
responsibility for climate change in the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC, First Assessment Report, 1990). However, global
emissions are still rising, and the climate crisis has transformed into an
increasingly dangerous phenomenon.
Because of this increasing danger, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations
have alerted the public to the effects of the climate crisis (Augé 2021,
2022a, 2023; Bosworth 2021; Doyle 2007). This paper focuses on the
communicative strategies used by a particular NGO, Extinction Rebellion (XR).
The organisation is known for its international influence and its spectacular
protests facilitating wider communication about the climate crisis. These
metaphorik.de 34/2023
70
protests distinguish XR from other environmental organisations: activists
attract media attention through peaceful disturbances (blocking streets and
businesses), and eye-catching performances (see below). While XR remains a
relatively new organisation – officially established in the United Kingdom in
2018 – its influence spread globally: in 2020, 1,136 affiliated groups and 250,000
’rebels’ were established in 72 countries (according to XR’s official website).
Following an investigation reported in the British newspaper The Independent,
XR represents “by far” the least popular NGO in the UK, but it is also
established as the most well-known (Tryl 2021).
In April 2019, XR was joined by a circus troupe, the Red Rebel Brigade. The Red
Rebel Brigade was originally part of a slow-motion mime show called Blanco,
displayed as part of the “Invisible Circus” during the 1990s (Invisible Circus’
official website).1 The “Invisible Circus” gathers street performers who travel
across Europe to “encourage people to be a part of the change and challenge the
status quo” (quoted after the Circus’ website).2 According to the creative
directors, Doug Francisco and Justine Squire, the emphasis on the colour red
“was part aesthetic and part symbolic, creating a very strong contrasting visual
and resonating with emotive responses to the colour, red symbolising blood,
danger, passion, stop signs etc.” (quoted from the Red Rebel Brigade’s official
website).
Despite the artistic origins of the Brigade, the emphasis on red also comes with
strong political connotations: while the troupe is originally based in England,
their name may also refer to leftist terrorist organisations such as Germany’s
Red Army Faction (Pluchinsky 2008) or Italy’s Red Brigades (Jamieson 2007),
alongside the long-established association between red and communism
(Priestland 2009). Although the troupe never explicitly acknowledged such
political references, one can infer that their involvement in (environmental)
protests may be politically connoted in the eyes of the public.
Along this line, XR’s protests have also been impacted by controversies.
Notably, in 2020, the UK police listed XR as a “terrorist organisation spreading
extremist ideology” (Dodd/Grierson 2020). This eventually resulted in a change
in the protest laws in the UK (Murphy 2022). This controversy may be linked
1 The Red Rebel Brigade’s official website: https://redrebelbrigade.com/(26.08.2022).
2 The Invisible Circus’ official website: https://invisiblecircus.co.uk/ (14.08.2023).
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
71
with the regular arrests of protesters following the blockades (see XR’s official
statement on “Arrestees’ welfare”)3 and with the disturbances caused by
artivists.
The present research draws on these existing controversies by focusing on two
particular performances conducted as part of XR’s protests: the Red Rebel
Brigade and the Blood Bath. The performance of the Red Rebel Brigade involves
a group of ’rebels’ dressed in red robes, with red flowers, red veils and crowns,
and faces painted in white.4 The Blood Bath is a more heterogenous performance
that systematically involves ‘rebels’ spraying fake blood in the streets,
on individuals, or on buildings.5
These two performances are of particular interest because they are regularly
observed during XR’s protests and can characterise the particularities of such
protests. These rely on the source concept BLOOD to convey environmental
arguments. This results in a “cognitively biased” (Kövecses 2010: 176; Lakoff
1987) depiction of the climate crisis that comprises emotional implications (e.g.,
EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS AS A BLOODSHED).
In this paper, I analyse the different conceptualisations attached to the source
domain BLOOD in the context of environmental artivists’ performances observed
in England. On the one hand, I demonstrate that the Red Rebel Brigade relies
on artistic features to share a BLOOD-related conceptualisation of the climate
crisis. On the other hand, I establish that the Blood Bath performance relies on
a more explicit conceptualisation of the environmental threat. This analysis
aims at answering the following question: how do environmental artivists’
different uses of the BLOOD-related metaphor ’affect’ the public to generate
environmental awareness (or environmental ’effect’)?
To this end, I analyse the metaphorical meaning of the two performances.
Throughout this analysis, I aim at uncovering how each use of the visual
3 XR’s Arrestees’ welfare: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/act-now/resources/arresteewelfare/
(06.08.2022).
4 Pictures of the Red Rebel Brigade available at: http://redrebelbrigade.com/visions/
(26.08.2022).
5 Pictures of the Blood Bath available at:
https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2021/11/09/bloodbath-extinction-rebellion...
against-the-destruction-of-the-amazon/ (26.08.2022).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
72
metaphor can possibly impact the public, in view of the situational context
(environmental protests in England).
In the following section, I discuss the theoretical approaches at play to analyse
these visual occurrences.
2. Metaphors and climate crisis argumentation
2.1 Environmental artivism
In order to understand how XR’s BLOOD-related performances may ‘affect’ the
public, I first need to discuss the notion of artivism. Lemoine and Ouardi (2010)
provide a thorough analysis of different ‘artivist’ performances, and convincingly
demonstrate that the notion is ultimately attached to various possible
definitions, depending on the causes that are being defended and the artistic
techniques that are used to defend such causes. Overall, they propose a
purposefully general definition: a work of art that is a reflection of activism
(Lemoine/Ouardi 2010).
Existing literature suggests that artivism appeared in the late 1990s, in
California, and primarily focused on racialisation and social marginalisation
(Diverlus 2016). Artivism evolved globally to address a wider range of issues,
among which are environmental issues. For instance, Susan Schuppli’s Nature
Represents Itself (2018), focused on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and Judy
Chicago’s Stranded (2016), which shows a polar bear on top of a shrinking
iceberg, have been cited as examples of environmental artivism (Greenberger
2020; O’Neill 2022).
Artivism has been shown to have a “transformative potential” (Aladro-Vico et
al. 2018: 10-11). It generates reflections on socio-political issues as it invites the
public to learn about such issues and perceive these through the lens of art
(Rhoades 2012; Roig-Palmer/Pedneault 2019). Consequently, artivism can
allow for a “transformative experience” that can yield “creative solutions”, and
it aims at promoting compassion for socially-excluded groups (Schubert/Gray
2015: 1353).
In this research, I do not only aim at analysing the ’effects’ of artivist
performances (i.e., the ‘transformation’ these may allow for), but also the ways
these artivist performances can ‘affect’ the public. This focus draws on
Duncombe’s (2016) and Duncombe and Lambert’s (2018) definition of artivism.
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
73
Accordingly, activism refers to activities that challenge power relations:
activism is oriented towards an outcome and can generate an ‘effect’
(Duncombe/Lambert 2018). In contrast, the ‘effect’ of art cannot be precisely
assessed. Art is oriented towards people’s feelings, perceptions, and emotions;
it generates ‘affect’ (Duncombe/Lambert 2018: 63-64). Following this insight,
artivism is a combination of effect and affect. Duncombe (2016) argues that
affect can lead to effect while effects have an affective impact.
For instance, Medrado and Rega (2023) analyse artivism in the context of ethnic
violence erupting across Kenya. They thoroughly explore how artists responded
by using a creative combination of technologies and aesthetic tactics.
Their analysis shows that artivism was used to resist narratives about Africa
that revolve around fatalism, failure, and poverty by giving a voice to
individuals, raising critical consciousness, and fostering empowering
exchanges (Medrado/Rega 2023: 72-97). This leads the scholars to conclude that
artivism may ultimately generate “counter subversive feelings of connection”
(2023: 143).
Hence, in the analysis that follows, I aim at drawing attention to the ways these
particular performances can ‘affect’ the public so as to generate ’effect’. This
analysis will be conducted by focusing on the ‘conceptual keys’ (Charteris-Black
2001) and cultural connotations associated with BLOOD in the context of XR’s
environmental protests in England.
2.2 Multimodal metaphors in climate crisis discourse
Metaphors prevail in climate crisis discourse. These can make the topic less
complex (e.g., quantifying one’s ‘carbon footprint’, Augé 2022b; Nerlich/
Hellsten 2014), they can promote arguments regarding climate change
mitigation and policies (e.g., the ‘war’ against climate change, Atanasova/
Koteyko 2017), they can persuade recipients of the urgency to tackle the
problem (Flusberg/Matlock/Thibodeau 2017), and they can attract public
attention to the issue (Augé 2021). Notably, in his critics of the metaphor COVID-
19 AS A WAR in political discourse, Hanne (2022) concludes that:
To treat not only the actual pandemic and this metaphorical
pandemic, but also the other major challenges, we require a vision
that incorporates many elements. That vision will be both
international and local. It will view human beings as integral to the
metaphorik.de 34/2023
74
natural world, rather than distinct from it. […] It is the discipline of
ecology which encourages us to think of the world in such a holistic
way. Ecology is concerned with interconnection and interdependence,
with communities of living creatures (Hanne 2022: 97;
my emphasis).
Indeed, this idea of “interconnection and interdependence” seems to be a major
characteristic of XR’s visual metaphors related to the source concept BLOOD (see
below). Visual metaphors have been documented in environmental discourse
(Hidalgo-Downing/O’Dowd 2023). Existing literature has demonstrated that
visual metaphors increase people’s concerns and make the environmental
problem more tangible (Meijers et al. 2019: 999). Notably, Doyle (2007) identifies
a wide range of alarming metaphors observed in the posters produced by the
environmental NGO Greenpeace (e.g., CLIMATE CHANGE AS A TIME BOMB). Pérez-
Sobrino (2013) investigates the advertisement of environmentally friendly
marketed products and notices the prevalence of the colour green to represent
the products as desirable items (i.e., GREEN AS DESIRABLE). However, to my
knowledge, no study has yet focused on the metaphorical meaning of
environmental artivists’ performances.
Forceville (1994, 1996) defines visual metaphor as a replacement of an expected
visual element by an unexpected one. He notes that there must be no preexistent
or conventional connection between these two elements (Forceville
1994). In the context of environmental artivism, the BLOOD is understood as the
source domain of the metaphor since the association between BLOOD and the
climate crisis is, following Forceville’s phrasing, “unexpected” and without
“conventional connection” (Forceville 1994: 24-26, 1996: 200).
2.3 The source concept BLOOD
The BLOOD represents a concrete concept that allows the BODIES to live
(Charteris-Black 2004: 262). This association between BLOOD and LIVING BODIES
can be reflected through prevalent socio-cultural views on the source concept.
Metaphor scholars have acknowledged the relation between bodily experience
and expressions that refer to human emotions (e.g., fullness to describe the
presence of an intense emotion, as in “to be filled with emotion”, Charteris-
Black 2001: 273, 2004: 262). Thus, if the body is conceptualised as a CONTAINER
that can be ’filled’ or ‘emptied’, this indicates that it is one that is filled with
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
75
blood (2001: 273). Following this observation, Charteris-Black (2001) analyses
the different ‘conceptual keys’ associated with the concept BLOOD in different
languages. He defines ‘conceptual keys’ as follows:
this is a formal statement of an underlying idea that accounts for the
related figures of speech that occur in different languages. A
conceptual key explains figurative rather than literal senses in a
language; it does not distinguish between metaphor and metonymy
or other figures because different languages may vary in the way that
these figures are employed in their phraseology. […] If bodily
experience were universal, then we would expect to find evidence in
figurative phraseology for cross-lingual or universal conceptualisations
(Charteris-Black 2001: 274-275).
This consideration leads him to identify three main conceptual keys associated
with BLOOD: BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY, BLOOD FOR LIFE, and BLOOD AS TEMPERAMENT.
He notes that, despite the “universal motivation” of such conceptual keys, their
meanings and resonance considerably vary within and between languages
(Charteris-Black 2001). For instance, the conceptual key BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY
can serve as a metonym for cultural or racial inheritance, dependency, or
aristocracy. BLOOD FOR LIFE may refer to vitality, creativity, enthusiasm, but also
violence, exploitation, and murder. BLOOD AS TEMPERAMENT can refer to
indignation, suffering, or determination (Charteris-Black 2001).
These findings highlight how the concept BLOOD can be used and understood
differently depending on the context in which it appears, and the cultural
connotations it is associated with. The present research, however, does not aim
at establishing such a comparative analysis across languages. I complement
Charteris-Black’s account on the BLOOD conceptual keys by investigating how
these conceptual keys can be reflected, visually, in the performances staged in
the context of environmental artivism. Notably, the performances analysed
below take place specifically in England. It is thus necessary to consider the
cultural connotations associated with the concept of BLOOD in this context.
For instance, the source concept may be associated with Christian religious
beliefs: it can be related to the phenomenon of ‘transubstantiation’ whereby,
according to the Bible, disciples are to drink “the true and eternal life-giving
blood of Jesus” (Wilson 2022: 5). Gonzalez notes that this conversion reflects a
spiritual relationship between Jesus Christ’s body and all species (2005: 208).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
76
Accordingly, the concept BLOOD can be interpreted as a means to create
connections.
From a different stance, the source concept BLOOD can be related to the
conceptual domains of CONFLICT and VIOLENCE. Charteris-Black (2004: 25-27, 41-
42) documents the conceptual associations made in political discourses between
BLOOD and conflicts (e.g., political conflict as BLOODSHED). Notably, the source
concept BLOOD has been widely discussed in the existing literature that
investigates anti-immigration discourse. The BLOOD conceptualisation can be
traced back to the British Conservative Politician Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of
Blood’ speech (1968). According to this politician, “inflows” and “outflows” of
immigrants (Charteris-Black 2006: 566; Chilton 2004: 117; Musolff 2015: 46) have
been implicitly assimilated to Virgil’s depiction of the rivers filled with the
enemies’ blood in the Aeneid (Goguey/Dubouchet 2014: 47). This conceptualisation
also prevails in more recent immigration debates. For instance,
Musolff (2015) identifies “dehumanising metaphors” in contemporary British
press, blogs, and readers’ comments which present depictions of immigrants as
“blood suckers”, “sucking blood out of [the host society]” (2015: 47-48). This
“dehumanisation” also appears in discourses about gender and race. Existing
research has demonstrated that BLOOD metaphors have been used to promote
racist ideologies (“black blood”; “tainted blood”, Russell 2010) which advertise
white supremacy and draw a distinction between different ‘races’.
Following these findings, it is possible to identify different connotations
associated with the source concept BLOOD. In the following analysis (sections 4
and 5), I demonstrate how these connotations are at play in environmental
artivists’ performances.
2.4 Metaphor scenario
The source domain BLOOD can promote different arguments in environmental
discourse. These BLOOD-related arguments lead to the identification of a BLOODrelated
scenario. Scenarios involve assumptions about the source concept: this
source concept becomes part of a metaphorical script to promote a certain
evaluation of the topic (Musolff 2016: 30-31). In the performances of the Red
Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath, the BLOOD is a visual representation of a
characteristic shared by living beings (see sections 4 and 5). Therefore, the visual
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
77
conceptualisations observed during these performances can be associated with
the scenario SHARED ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES AS COMMON BLOOD.
Environmental artivists’ exploitation of the scenario demonstrates the different
ways in which such BLOOD-related metaphorical performances can impact the
public, in the context of environmental protests in England.
The different uses of the metaphor scenario are discussed at length in the
following sections. These are preceded by methodological information, which I
now explain in more details.
3. Methodology
The research started by watching different occurrences of the two performances,
i.e. the Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath, during XR’s protests taking place
in England. I consulted the official British website of the organisation6 along
with the official website of the Red Rebel Brigade7. All the communications
published on the website of the Red Rebel Brigade have been reviewed (i.e.,
introductory statement, visions, exposure) to retrieve contextual information
about the performances (places, dates, and tools used during performances). On
XR’s website, I used the search option to select publications associated with the
search terms red rebel brigade (38 publications) and blood (92 publications). The
publications which were selected for this research include videos or photos of
the performances and textual information about the context of the performances.
The metaphorical conceptualisations associated with the two performances
were analysed following the two established procedures: MIPVU (Steen et al.
2010) and VISMIP (Šorm/Steen 2018; see also FILMIP, Bort-Mir 2021). VISMIP
is a procedure to identify visual metaphors, its steps can be summarised as
follows:
1. look at the entire image, including visual and verbal elements, to
establish a general understanding of the meaning;
2. structure descriptive phrase(s);
3. find incongruous visual units;
6 XR’s official website: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/ (26.08.2022).
7 The Red Rebel Brigade’s official website: https://redrebelbrigade.com/(26.08.2022).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
78
4. test whether the incongruous units are to be integrated within the overall
topical framework by means of some form of comparison;
5. test whether the comparison(s) is-are cross-domain;
6. test whether the comparison(s) can be seen as some form of indirect
discourse about the topic (Šorm/Steen 2018).
The procedure established in MIPVU is also relevant as the performances can
involve verbal communication produced by artivists: for instance, the performances
involve artivists talking to the public and giving away leaflets.
Therefore, this verbal communication is also part of the essentially visual
performances. MIPVU focuses on verbal metaphors, its steps are as follows:
1. find local referent and topic shifts;
2. test whether the incongruous lexical units are to be integrated within the
overall referential and-or topical framework by means of some form of
comparison;
3. test whether the comparison is nonliteral or cross-domain;
4. test whether the comparison can be seen as some form of indirect
discourse about the local or main referent or topic of the text”
(Šorm/Steen 2018: 53; Steen et al. 2010).
The metaphorical meaning of the two performances is thoroughly discussed in
the following sections. Yet, neither MIPVU nor VISMIP-FILMIP can fully grasp
the metaphorical meaning of performances: these have been designed for the
analysis of verbal metaphors, images (like cartoons), and films. These procedures
can still help to identify the metaphorical conceptualisations at play
during the performances. Such conceptualisations have then been qualitatively
analysed following the methodology established in Critical Metaphor Analysis
(Charteris-Black 2004): 1. Identification, 2. Interpretation, 3. Explanation. In the
identification phase, I conducted the MIPVU and VISMIP-FILMIP procedures.
In the interpretation phase, I considered how the BLOOD was used in each
performance (e.g., the red robes of the Red Rebel Brigade and the fake
bloodshed resulting from the Blood Bath). In the explanation phase, I focused
on the situational context, i.e. environmental protests in England, to figure out
how these particular occurrences of BLOOD were related to the cause defended
by environmental artivists.
The scope of this research is qualitative. Videos and images of the performances
have been analysed according to the procedures defined above, along with
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
79
Forceville’s definition of visual metaphor, in terms of “unconventional
connections” (Forceville 1994: 24-26, 1996: 200). This qualitative analysis aims at
observing how the performances of the Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
may affect the public and generate environmental awareness, with particular
attention paid to the ‘conceptual keys’ and cultural connotations associated
with BLOOD (Charteris-Black 2001).
In the following section, I discuss the metaphorical use of BLOOD during the
performance of the Red Rebel Brigade. I then focus on the Blood Bath performance
to eventually compare the different connotations at play in the use of
the visual metaphor scenario, observed in the context of environmental
artivism.
4. The Red Rebel Brigade
4.1 The colour red
The Red Rebel Brigade was originally a circus troupe with limited political
involvement (the involvement is not explicitly recognised by performers). In
April 2019, it became affiliated with the environmental movement XR. This
affiliation means that the situational context in which the performance takes
place has – to some extent – altered the meaning of the performance: it moved
from an exclusively artistic setting (i.e., the circus) to a socio-political setting
(i.e., environmental protests). This consideration is significant in the analysis of
the performance: the originally artistic performance is, in this research, viewed
as an instance of environmental artivism because the artistic performance is
displayed as part of environmental protests. In this section, I aim at showing
how the artistic features of the performance have been preserved while the performance
has taken on an additional – environmental – meaning.
The source concept BLOOD remains implicit throughout the Brigade’s performance:
the references to BLOOD can be perceived through the visual metonymy
RED FOR BLOOD while, in such a socio-political context, the colour may easily
recall political movements such as communist movements (Priestland 2009).
Yet, the information retrieved from XR’s website, regarding the origins of the
environmental movement, insists on the fact that the movement is not
metaphorik.de 34/2023
80
associated with any political party (‘about us’ section of the website).8 Thus, the
red robes, veils, crowns and flowers used by the Brigade may not refer to such
political groups. The leaflets (accessed via the Red Rebel Brigade’s website)9
distributed by artivists during the performance aim at orienting the public’s
interpretation: the short text appearing on the leaflets explains that the colour
red is a way to “symbolise the common blood we share with all species” (my
emphasis).
4.2 COMMON BLOOD
The red colour displayed during the performance is thus to be interpreted
following the metonymy RED FOR BLOOD. The emphasis, in the leaflets, on
“common blood” is also reflected visually during the performance: artivists
hide most of their individual features by painting their faces in white
(preventing the public from identifying particular individuals) and wearing the
same clothes. Additionally, the performance requires artivists to either hold
each other’s hands or, alternatively, to collectively hold a long red thread as they
progress in the streets.10 This visual detail of the performance indicates a focus
on collectivism contrasting with individualism: the performance downplays
artivists’ individual features while collective features are represented through
the omnipresence of the colour red.
This emphasis on collectivism can be analysed in terms of the conceptual key
BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY, and in particular “dependency” (Charteris-Black 2001).
Accordingly, the Brigade relies on the metonym so that the common bodily
features we share with all species are more visible to the public. In the context
of environmental artivism, the insistence on similarities implies that we have
similar bodily features (i.e., blood), therefore what may affect one species can
affect us, and vice versa: interconnectedness has a role to play in the way we
experience the climate crisis.
8 XR’s official website, ‘about us’ section: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-truth/aboutus/
(06.10.2023).
9 The full text of the leaflets is presented in the annexes.
10 Picture of the performance: https://redrebelbrigade.com/wp-content/uploads/stephstillwell-
upsurge-studios-min-scaled.jpg (06.08.2023).
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
81
If one considers the situational context (environmental protests in England), the
colour red displayed by the Brigade is also related to the conceptual key BLOOD
FOR LIFE (Charteris-Black 2001). The visual metonymy RED FOR BLOOD insists on
what makes us all alive (i.e., the blood that runs in our bodies), which contrasts
with the context in which artivists warn about a danger to our lives: the climate
crisis. The BLOOD is a key aspect of the performance: the Red Rebel Brigade
draws attention to a part of the BODY that is, to some extent, invisible when the
BODY IS HEALTHY. However, the BLOOD is a physiological component that
becomes visible when the BODY HAS BEEN INJURED. The Brigade’s performers do
not visually express any signs of INJURIES and PAIN: artivists’ faces are painted,
which deprives them – to some extent – of facial expressions.11 Their focus on
the BLOOD relies on the public’s embodied experiences (El Refaie 2019; Gibbs
2005; Gibbs et al. 2004). Accordingly, the Brigade resorts to the public’s
cognitive bias (Kövecses 2010: 176; Lakoff 1987) and ‘moral foundations’
(Charteris-Black 2021) induced by the conceptual key BLOOD FOR LIFE (Charteris-
Black 2001), which are to possibly generate reflexions regarding a possible
CURE-INTERVENTION. This interpretation is also coherent with the situational
context (i.e., environmental protests) which relates to the extinction of species
caused by the human-made climate crisis.
As the Brigade progresses in the streets, they show to the public a sense of
cohesion: artivists follow the same rhythm, they work together to create a
‘march’ or theatrical mimes. This cohesion displayed by the Brigade can, on the
one hand, highlight that individuals can work together to create a collective
piece while, on the other hand, this cohesion also involves a threatening aspect.
Their cohesion ultimately appears as a ceremonious procession which the
general public may not be initially informed about, and is not invited to join.
This consideration uncovers a significant issue regarding artivism: this cohesion
among artivists might eventually exclude the general public. Members of the
public are only conceived as viewers but not as actors involved in the
performance-protest. For instance, the sophisticated appearance of red ’rebels’
(robes, make-up, mimetic gestures) creates a frontier between the artivists and
the public. The same kind of frontier is notably observed during artistic performances
(e.g., the ‘fourth wall’), which means that the Brigade’s role during
11 Picture of artivists’ painted faces:
https://redrebelbrigade.com/wp-content/uploads/james-pearce-min.jpg (06.08.2023).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
82
environmental protests remains an essentially artistic role: their performance is
to ‘affect’ the public, but the performance is not aimed at producing immediate
‘effects’ (e.g., public’s impulsive participation). Artivists use this frontier separating
them from the public to attract attention, raise questions about such a
procession, and affect the public so that the public can start a transformative
reflexion on environmental issues.
4.3 The artistic fantasy
From a more critical point of view, this conceptualisation of BLOOD (related to
LIFE and DEPENDENCY and CONNECTIONS) may appear as a fantasy disconnected
with our social reality. Indeed, the artivists’ insistence on collectivism –
perceived through artivists’ cohesion and collective appearance during
performances – discards relevant characteristics of modern society (e.g., the
socio-cultural prevalence of the ‘Great Chain of Beings’, according to Lakoff/
Turner 1989). This consideration can weaken the artivists’ arguments. Yet, the
artivists acknowledge this fantastic aspect of their performance. Notably, they
justify this fantastic aspect in their leaflets (distributed during protests), which
ask the public to “enter into the magic realm” (see Annexes). The selfidentification
of the Brigade as a group of MAGICAL CREATURES is reflected
visually, as the performance deprives artivists of most of their human-like
features: their faces are painted, their bodies are completely covered in large red
robes, and their heads are covered by red veils. These fading human traits are
also associated with non-human gestures (i.e., a slow-motion mime show). This
disguise does not only aim at attracting attention, but it also invites the public
to reflect on the fantasy. Artivists self-identify as ’magical’ creatures while they
are involved in environmental protests. This contrast between fantasy and
protests suggests that the public is not only invited to perceive the environment
as an issue (that requires protests), but they are also invited to fantasise a world
deprived of such environmental issues (the protests transform into artistic
performances).
Additionally, the reference to “magic” in the artivists’ leaflets can be associated
with childhood fantasies: while art may depict a fantasised world, the “magic”
refers more explicitly to stories addressed to children. For instance, the
Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.) defines magic along this line: “the use of special
powers to make things happen that would usually be impossible, such as in
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
83
stories for children” (definition A2). The Brigade aims at inviting the public to
recall the vision of the world they had when they were young children (in the
leaflets, artivists state: “we are who the people have forgotten to be”, see
Annexes). The performance invites the public to reflect on this fantasised world
defined by the lack of environmental issues, as these phenomena were (partly)
ignored during childhood.
However, this ‘fantastic’ aspect of the performance may not generate
transformative reflexion about the climate crisis, if one considers the current
socio-political context. Indeed, the climate crisis remains a highly complex
phenomenon which is misunderstood by a significant part of the population:
for instance, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (ongoing)
recently identified a new wave of climate scepticism which started in 2020 and
is increasing since then. Similarly, artistic performances can be perceived as
complex, since art works rarely convey explicit messages (Duncombe 2016;
Duncombe/Lambert 2018). Hence, even if artivism may succeed in attracting
public attention, this lack of explicit messages about a complex issue, such as
the climate crisis, may in fact increase public misunderstanding. The Brigade’s
performance may still ‘affect’ the public, but its ’effects’ can be questioned.
In the next section, I turn my attention to a more explicit use of the BLOOD source
concept, which can be observed during XR’s Blood Bath performance.
5. The Blood Bath
5.1 The situational context
XR’s Blood Bath performance is mainly characterised by the spraying of fake
blood over strategic places (e.g., banks, fossil fuel lobbies, polluting companies,
politicians’ offices) during environmental protests. Unlike the Red Rebel
Brigade, this performance is produced by ‘regular’ protesters who may be
disguised as politicians12, widows or injured bodies13.
12 Images of the protest available at: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2021/11/09/bloodbathextinction-
rebellion-stands-with-apib-agains-the-destruction-of-the-amazon/ (21.08.2022).
13 Image of the protest available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/extinctionrebellion-
protesters-cover-themselves-in-fake-blood-and-stage-diein-at-london-fashionweek-
a4235691.html (21.08.2022).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
84
It is to be noted that the climate crisis may result in actual bloodsheds in specific
contexts, such as land exploitations in the Amazon which resulted in a “dirty
war” and genocide of Indigenous tribes (Toomey 2009). Accordingly, the BLOOD
used by environmental artivists can be understood as a metonymical reference
to the (literal) deaths caused by such environmental issues. The BLOOD still takes
on a metaphorical meaning while considering the situational context in which
the performance takes place: the BLOODSHED is observed in England and, in
particular, in the wealthy neighbourhoods of London, such as Downing Street14
(where the UK Prime Minister’s office is located). Therefore, the situational
context of the performance produces “unconventional connections” (Forceville
1994: 24-26, 1996: 200) existing between the BLOOD observed in England and
environmental issues (i.e., the cause defended by artivists).
The BLOOD sprayed in the streets or over buildings results in chaotic images
suggesting BARBARIC MASSACRES. In particular, the performance focuses on
politicians’ and polluters’ guilt since the strategic location of the Blood Bath also
adds to the meaning of the performance. Images of the streets covered in BLOOD
can be conceptualised as CRIME SCENES, identifying the targeted polluters and
politicians as BARBARIC CRIMINALS in the eyes of the public. The visual metaphor
is thus a way for XR to draw a direct link between politics, finance, and deaths
related to pollution.
5.2 The fake blood
The environmental artivists’ reliance on ‘fake blood’ as part of their performance
results in a very explicit use of the concept BLOOD, compared with the
Red Rebel Brigade’s implicit references to BLOOD, represented through red
clothes. Such an explicit representation of BLOOD during the Blood Bath can
have a direct ‘effect’ on the public. As the public is to observe the unexpected
presence of BLOOD, this unexpectedness can trigger immediate reflexions
(Schubert/Gray 2015) regarding this visual element. Subsequently, the public
may reflect on the origins of this BLOODSHED which is to prospectively lead them
to learn about the environmental artivists’ message.
14 Images of the Blood Bath in Downing Street available at:
https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2019/03/09/breaking-extinction-rebellion-...
of-blood-at-downing-st-to-call-alarm-on-climate-and-ecological-emergency/ (17.08.2023).
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
85
Alternatively, this “unconventional connection” (Forceville 1994: 24-26, 1996:
200) may weaken the environmental artivists’ message: the resulting
BLOODSHED may seem like an exaggerated representation of the effects of the
climate crisis. The performance can still ’affect’ the public and generate
reflexions regarding the ground of such conceptual associations, but the shock
produced by the performance may also lead some members of the public to
contest the message of environmental artivists. Indeed, the performance
represents a BLOOD-related conceptualisation of environmental issues that does
not correspond to the public’s experiential knowledge (i.e., the “connection”
may be too “unconventional”, Forceville 1994: 24-26, 1996: 200). Consequently,
the artistic aspect of the performance – which is to generate long-term effects
(Duncombe 2016) – may not be grasped by the English public. However, the
affective impact of the performance (Duncombe 2016) can, in such
circumstances, be directed towards the performers themselves, who can be
blamed for the shock experienced by the public. In other words, the ‘artistic’
aspect can also have an impact on the ‘activist’ aspect of the performance.
The visual shock generated by the performance is also permitted by cultural
connotations associated with the concept BLOOD. Indeed, environmental
artivists rely on the conceptual key BLOOD FOR LIFE (Charteris-Black 2001). The
BLOODSHED resulting from the performance can ‘affect’ the public following
conceptual associations between BLOOD and INJURIES and DEATHS: as mentioned
in section 2, this physiological component is – to some extent – invisible in
healthy circumstances but becomes visible in case of injuries. Here, the
environmental artivists do not only make the BLOOD visible, but their performance
also makes it eye-catching.
The amount of fake blood required for the Blood Bath (existing reports claim
that no less than 1,800 litres of fake blood have been used for a single
performance)15 has been calculated so that the performance can easily catch the
attention of the general public. This amount of fake blood, suggesting a
BLOODSHED, does not leave much room for conceptual questioning: the BLOOD
is used to conceptually represent DEATHS, in accordance with the conceptual key
BLOOD FOR LIFE (Charteris-Black 2001).
15 Report available at: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2019/10/03/extinction-rebellionspray-
fake-blood-on-treasury-using-fire-engine/ (17.08.2023).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
86
This huge amount of fake blood can also be interpreted following the conceptual
key BLOOD AS TEMPERAMENT (Charteris-Black 2001). Accordingly, the quantity
of fake blood conceptually reflects the high degree of suffering experienced by
the victims of environmental issues. Interestingly, while the strategic location of
the performance helps the public to identify the CULPRIT, the identities of the
VICTIMS are not disclosed. The BLOOD is used as a bodily component that shows
that the CULPRIT is being targeted for MURDEROUS actions. Such actions are
represented as BODILY HARM to insist on a bodily feature (i.e., blood) which the
public can relate to. The performance relies on the public’s conceptual
knowledge to persuade them to CARE for the victims (implicitly represented
through the BLOODSHED), while observing the HARM that has been done.
Along this line, the performance also refers to the interconnectedness between
humans, with regards to the BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY conceptual key (Charteris-
Black 2001). The performance may particularly affect the public because the
BLOOD is similar to the blood contained within the bodies of the members of the
public. The images of the BLOOD sprayed in England warn about the risks that
concern every human being, as this BLOOD could belong to any living being.
5.3 The artefacts
Environmental artivists also use different artefacts to carry the litres of fake
blood during the performance. These artefacts are not only used for practical
reasons, but they also convey additional messages to the public during the
performance.
For instance, a noticeable occurrence of XR’s Blood Bath performance took place
in front of the Treasury, in London, in October 2019. As part of this protest,
environmental artivists used a fire engine to spray fake blood over the
building.16 The use of the fire engine identifies ENVIRONMENTAL ARTIVISTS AS
FIRE FIGHTERS. Accordingly, this performance places artivists in the role of
HEROES while the Treasury is represented as the FIRE RAISER, and the BLOOD may
refer to the victims of the FIRE (implicitly represented through the fake blood,
see above). The representation of the danger as a FIRE may be an implicit
16 Images of the “fire engine” available at: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/wpcontent/
uploads/2019/10/72175248_10162360758870710_6250363646992449536_o.jpg
(17.08.2023).
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
87
reference to the climate crisis, also referred to as global warming. The FIRE is a
typical example of extreme, dangerous warmth which suggests a topictriggered
use of the visual metaphor (Semino 2008). The environmental artivists
rely on this conceptual association to draw a visual link between finance and
climate-related deaths.
A different instance of the Blood Bath was performed during an environmental
protest in London in March 2019.17 The ‘rebels’ were holding buckets of fake
blood to be sprayed over Downing Street. This reliance on buckets may be
decoded according to the conceptual key BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY (Charteris-Black
2001). Indeed, the performance involves artivists carrying their own buckets of
blood, which may highlight a link of possession existing between the blood
contained in each bucket and the artivist who holds this bucket. Therefore, we
can speculate that this sense of belonging might visually signify that the bucket
contains the artivist’s own blood.
This use of buckets was also explained by an environmental artivist, speaking
during the performance:
(1) We are in a surreal situation now where we have got devastating
changes, it is very close on the horizon and most of us are asleep,
and part of what we are doing here is to shock a little bit,
because this is the blood of our children, it is our blood, and
things have got to change (Extinction Rebellion 09/03/2019, my
emphasis).18
Following the environmental artivist’s claims, the source concept BLOOD is
exploited to highlight the main unmatching features of the metaphorical
conceptualisation: the protesters (“our blood”) and their children (“the blood of
our children”) are obviously not injured nor dead. These unmatching features
can yet particularly affect the public since these buckets of blood are
represented, verbally, through the conceptual key BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY. This
conceptualisation implies that CARING is conceived as a personal duty: the
BLOOD used during the Blood Bath is similar to human blood, and therefore the
public’s and their children’s blood. The performance thus turns environmental
17 Images of the “buckets of blood” available at:
https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2019/03/09/breaking-extinction-rebellion-...
of-blood-at-downing-st-to-call-alarm-on-climate-and-ecological-emergency/(17.08.2023).
18 Video available at: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2019/09/14/our-childrens-blood-xrhamburg-
14-september-2019/ (06.08.2022).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
88
issues (i.e., the cause defended by artivists) into personal duties, identified
through cultural connotations associated with the concept BLOOD.
The explicit representation of the BLOOD concept as part of the Blood Bath may
lead us to consider the artistic aspects of this artivist performance. Indeed, the
Blood Bath generates immediate ‘effects’ as the public is to learn about the
origins of the unexpected BLOODSHED. It can also generate more long-term
reflexions related to the conceptual associations between environmental issues
and (bodily) danger.
In the following section, I provide answers to my main research question: how
do environmental artivists’ different uses of the BLOOD-related metaphor ‘affect’
the public to generate environmental awareness (or environmental ‘effect’)? I
also discuss the endorsed and contested aspects of these performances in the
British media. This leads me to consider the various functions of visual metaphors
observed as part of environmental artivism.
6. Discussion
This paper has presented the varying uses of the visual metaphor scenario
SHARED ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES AS COMMON BLOOD during the performances
staged by Extinction Rebellion and the Red Rebel Brigade in
England.
The analysis of visual metaphors has demonstrated that the artivists conceptualise
the BLOOD as a CONNECTION between all individuals. This emphasis
on interconnectedness is coherent with the defining features of artivism, which
is to promote “counter subversive feelings of connection” (Medrado/Rega 2023:
143). In this research, I demonstrated how environmental artivists rely on the
conceptual keys BLOOD FOR LIFE, BLOOD FOR ANCESTRY and BLOOD AS
TEMPERAMENT (Charteris-Black 2001) to draw a conceptual link between the
public (and the blood contained in their bodies), and the BLOOD used during
these performances. The BLOOD is a concept that can produce strong emotions,
which are associated with the situational context: environmental artivists’ performances
in England.
This emphasis on interconnectedness in the use of BLOOD by Extinction
Rebellion and the Red Rebel Brigade relies on the public’s moral foundations
(Charteris-Black 2021). Notably, in my analysis of the Blood Bath, I established
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
89
how the fake blood sprayed over strategic places in England (such as banks,
politicians’ headquarters, fossil fuel lobbies) can attract public attention to the
HARM caused by these companies, while inciting the public to CARE for victims
and, more generally, for the prosperity of all living species. In my analysis of
the Red Rebel Brigade’s performance, I suggested that the visual metonymy RED
FOR BLOOD also reflected this idea of interconnectedness and collectivism while
also insisting on BODILY HARM (i.e., visibility of the BLOOD) and thus, environmental
danger (i.e., situational context). Accordingly, the environmental
artivists resort to the public’s cognitive bias (Kövecses 2010: 176; Lakoff 1987)
and moral foundations (Charteris-Black 2021) induced by the conceptual keys
associated with BLOOD (Charteris-Black 2001), which are to generate reflexions
regarding a possible CURE-INTERVENTION.
This focus on interconnectedness represented through the concept of BLOOD
draws on spiritual conceptualisations documented in religious discourse
(Charteris-Black 2004; Gonzalez 2005; Wilson 2022). For instance, this idea of
interconnectedness recalls existing scientific views on the ecosystem defined in
James Lovelock’s “Gaia Theory” (2007). According to this theory, elaborated
since the early 1970s (Donahue 2010: 55-6), nature is represented as a system of
interactions between species, organisms, and the environment. These interactions
create a single living entity characterised by its indivisibility: Gaia
(Donahue 2010: 52; Ogle 2010: 275-7). This theory provides a particular view on
human life on earth: human control of nature is opposed to Gaia’s selfregulation
which leads Lovelock to call for the preservation of “emotional
bonds to Gaia” (Ogle 2010: 280). His work has had a significant impact on
science because it raised new questions and hypotheses about the influence of
humans on the climate (Donahue 2010: 53-4; Ogle 2010: 276-8). In the context of
the environmental artivists’ performances, this conceptualisation is aimed at
promoting compassion through references to moral foundations related to
CARE-HARM (Charteris-Black 2021).
Throughout the analysis, questions have been raised as to how these
environmental artivists’ performances may ‘affect’ the public so as to lead to
‘effect’ (Duncombe 2016; Duncombe/Lambert 2018). During the performances,
the public is essentially perceived as viewers but not as actors. This is
particularly noticeable during the performance of the Red Rebel Brigade: the
artivists self-identify as ‘magic creatures’ conducting a ceremonious procession
metaphorik.de 34/2023
90
which the public may not be informed about and is not invited to join. While
the ‘magical’ aspect of the performance is aimed at envisioning a fantasised
world deprived of environmental issues, the artivists’ cohesion, theatrical
mimes, and collective appearance as a circus troupe might feel like a threat to
the public. These references to ‘magic’ have been criticised by climate change
deniers who perceive climate activists as “medieval preachers” (Atanasova/
Koteyko 2017: 460) who believe in a “false religion” (Nerlich 2010: 434).
The artivists’ role during environmental protests remains an essentially artistic
role: their performance is to ‘affect’ the public (Duncombe 2016) but the
performance is not aimed at producing immediate ‘effects’. Artivists use this
‘fourth wall’ separating them from the public to attract attention, raise questions
about the performances, and affect the public so that the public can start a
transformative reflexion (Schubert/Gray 2015) on environmental issues.
Alternatively, the artistic aspect of the performances may not be grasped by the
public. This has notably been considered in my analysis of the Blood Bath. In
this case, the affective impact of the performance (Duncombe 2016) can generate
critical views on the performers, and thus the environmental movement, who
can be blamed for the shock experienced by the public during the performance:
the ‘artistic’ aspect can also have an impact on the ’activist’ aspect of the
performance.
Another question appeared with regards to the lack of measurable ‘effects’ of
art (Duncombe/Lambert 2018: 63-64). Indeed, art rarely conveys explicit
messages. Yet, such explicit messages may be required in the context of
environmental artivism because the climate crisis remains a misunderstood
issue as evidenced by the increasing wave of scepticism (Yale Program on
Climate Change Communication, ongoing). The artistic aspect of
environmental artivism may not ultimately generate transformative reflexion
(Schubert/Gray 2015) about the climate crisis.
The question (regarding how these BLOOD-related performances can ’affect’ the
public and generate ’effects’) can be further discussed through a study of British
media descriptions of each performance. A brief research on the Nexis database,
which provides access to newspaper articles and online news, has demonstrated
that the two performances have been endorsed by British newspapers (e.g.,
“keep the strange wonder alive!”, report on XR’s protest by Charlotte Becquart,
Cornwall Live, 17/02/2020), with some verbal exploitations of the source domain
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
91
to insist on the artivists’ arguments (e.g., “Red Rebels have travelled, silently
and with purpose, along the veins of the country to the beating heart of COP26
in Glasgow”, Miranda Norris, Oxford Mail, 01/11/2021; “How Extinction
Rebellion put the world on red alert”, Nosheen Iqbal, The Guardian,
06/10/2019). A major contrast between the two performances can yet be
perceived in more critical media, such as the British newspaper Telegraph.
Indeed, both performances have been criticised, but the criticism seems to be
much more scathing in descriptions of the Blood Bath than in descriptions of
the Red Rebel Brigade. For instance, the description of the Red Rebel Brigade in
Telegraph claims that the aim of the “scaremongering” and “disruptive” protest
is to “take us back to pre-industrial Dark Ages” (Telegraph 07/10/2019). Daily
Mail described artivists as “clowns” (Daily Mail 09/10/2019) while The
Cambridge Independent denied that the performance is an instance of
“witchcraft”, as claimed by a discontented citizen (The Cambridge Independent
12/12/2020). In contrast, criticism regarding the Blood Bath suggests that the
performance could have been “claimed by Al Qaeda” and was an instance of
“ecofascism” (Richard LittleJohn, Daily Mail 03/10/2019). The journalists also
criticised the “bloody mess” left by the fake blood sprayed in the streets and
complained about the cost of the cleaning and the possible toxicity of the
material used to produce the fake blood (Telegraph 03/10/2010). The emphasis
on the colour red during the two performances has also been misleadingly
associated with political ideologies (i.e., communism; Telegraph 07/10/2019).
This brief discussion of the media descriptions of the performances suggests
that on the one hand, the Red Rebel Brigade does not produce very strong
criticism, but the main argument is downplayed in descriptions of the ‘wonder’
of the protests. On the other hand, the Blood Bath has been heavily criticised in
the media. Notably, some claims are particularly concerning since these relate
to existing controversies presenting Extinction Rebellion as a terrorist group
(see report by Dodd/ Grierson 2020).
Therefore, the varying visual occurrences of the scenario SHARED ENVIRONMENTAL
CIRCUMSTANCES AS COMMON BLOOD during Extinction Rebellion’s and
the Red Rebel Brigade’s performances serve different functions: first, these
undeniably produce ‘peaceful disturbance’ which attracts public attention.
Second, these represent a new form of protests that distinguish the newly
founded NGO from other organisations. This can eventually attract more
activists who may want to join the ‘events’, while avoiding participations to
metaphorik.de 34/2023
92
‘protests’. Third, the singularity of the performances effectively attracts media
attention, which helps activists to convey their messages to the general public.
7. Concluding remarks
It is now possible to establish the complementarity of the performances: the
Blood Bath favours an explicit version of the visual metaphor scenario SHARED
ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES AS COMMON BLOOD while the Red Rebel
Brigade presents an essentially artistic visual version of the scenario.
Accordingly, the source concept BLOOD is exploited by environmental artivists
so as to encourage the spread of their main message: the climate crisis needs to
be averted to prevent the extinction of all species. Therefore, even if the two
performances seem to differ at first sight, these promote similar environmental
arguments, related to the need for connections. The source concept BLOOD can
provoke a wide range of reactions among the public, which can ultimately
generate transformative reflexion (Schubert/Gray 2015) and foster
“empowering exchanges” (Medrado/Rega 2023: 143).
It is possible to infer that environmental artivists’ significant reliance on BLOOD
during protests is caused by the cultural connotations and the (universal)
conceptual keys associated with the concept (Charteris-Black 2001).
Interestingly, performances related to women’s rights present highly similar
visual characteristics: the visual features of the Red Rebel Brigade recall the
work of the French artist Valérie Belin who depicted female submission through
images of women wearing magnificent, embellished dresses (“The Brides”). In
contrast, the explicit representation of BLOOD as part of Extinction Rebellion’s
Blood Bath recalls the works of female body-artists whose artworks and
performances rely on blood to denounce the violence against women (see the
works of the French artist Gina Pane and the Israeli artist Sigalit Landau). This
demonstrates the relevance of the visual exploitation of a (source) concept,
which can be viewed through different lenses (artistic lens or activist lens) to
reach a large variety of individuals with different visual sensibilities.
From a linguistic viewpoint, this research has proposed a different approach to
the analysis of visual metaphors: it considered the possible impact of a visual
metaphor scenario in the context of environmental artivists’ protests, and it
adapted existing methodologies to investigate the metaphorical conceptualisations
promoted during performances. I conclude that performances taking
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
93
place in a socio-political context, such as environmental artivism, are relevant
objects of investigation to understand the role played by visual metaphor
scenarios in argumentation.
Data available at:
Extinction Rebellion’s official British website: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/
(26.08.2022).
Red Rebel Brigade’s official website: http://redrebelbrigade.com/ (26.08.2022).
Nexis: http://lexisnexis.com (06.08.2022).
Acknowledgments:
This research is part of an academic project conducted in UCLouvain, Institute
of Political Science Louvain Europe, funded by the Fonds Spécial de Recherche
(FSR Fellowship).
I acknowledge the help and many ideas shared by Professor Jonathan Charteris-
Black, who kindly reviewed this manuscript. I also thank the two anonymous
peer-reviewers who provided many constructive comments to improve the
manuscript. I thank Doctor Adeline Terry and Professor Denis Jamet for the
opportunity to contribute to this special issue.
8. References
Aladro-Vico, Eva/Jivkova-Semova, Dimitrina/Bailey, Olga (2018): “Artivism:
A new educative language for transformative social action”. [Artivismo:
Un nuevo lenguaje educativo para la acción social transformadora], in:
Comunicar 57, 9-18.
Atanasova, Dimitrinka/Koteyko, Nelya (2017): “Metaphors in The Guardian
online and The Mail online opinion-page content on climate change: war,
religion, and politics”, in: Environmental Communication 11(4), 452-469.
Augé, Anaïs (2021): “COVID-19 as a framing device for environmental protest:
the ECOSYSTEM HEALTH metaphor”, in: Environmental Communication
17(3), 230-244.
Augé, Anaïs (2022a): “COVID-19 is the Earth’s vaccine: controversial metaphors
in environmental discourse”, in: Interface Journal of European Languages and
Literature 17, 5-33.
metaphorik.de 34/2023
94
Augé, Anaïs (2022b): “How visual metaphors contradict verbal occurrences: A
cross-linguistic and multimodal analysis of the imprint of climate change”,
in: Metaphor and the Social World 12(1), 1-22.
Augé, Anaïs (2023): Metaphor and Argumentation in Climate Crisis Discourse, New
York: Routledge.
Bort-Mir, Lorena (2021): “Identifying metaphors in TV commercials with
FILMIP: The filmic metaphor identification procedure”, in: Journal of
English Studies 19, 23-46.
Bosworth, Kai (2021): “The bad environmentalism of nature is healing memes”,
in: Cultural Geographies 29(3), 353-374.
Charteris-Black, Jonathan (2001): “Blood sweat and tears: a Corpus-based
cognitive analysis of ‘blood’ in English Phraseology”, in: Studi Italiani di
Linguistica Teorica e Applicata: Italian Studies on Theoretical and Applied
Linguistics 2, 273-288.
Charteris-Black, Jonathan (2004): Corpus Approaches to Critical Metaphor Analysis,
London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Charteris-Black, Jonathan (2006): “Britain as a container: Immigration
metaphors in the 2005 election campaign”, in: Discourse and Society 17(5),
563-581.
Charteris-Black, Jonathan (2021): Metaphors of Coronavirus: Invisible Enemy or
Zombie Apocalypse?, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Chilton, Paul (2004): Analysing Political Discourse, London: Routledge.
Diverlus, Rodney (2016): “Re/imagining artivism”, in: Elliot, David/Silverman,
Marissa/Bowman, Wayne (eds.): Artistic citizenship, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 189-210.
Donahue, Thomas (2010): “Anthropocentrism and the argument from Gaia
theory”, in: Ethics & the Environment 15(2), 51-77.
Doyle, Julia (2007): “Picturing the clima(c)tic: Greenpeace and the
representational politics of climate change communication”, in: Science as
Culture 16(2), 129–150.
Duncombe, Stephen (2016): “Does it work? The æffect of activist art”, in: Social
Research: An International Quarterly 83(1), 115-134.
Duncombe, Stephen/Lambert, Steve (2018): “Artistic Activism”, in: Meikle,
Graham (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Media and Activism, London:
Routledge, 57-64.
El Refaie, Elisabeth (2019): Visual Metaphor and Embodiment in Graphic Illness
Narrative, New York: Oxford University Press.
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
95
Flusberg, Stephen/Matlock, Teenie/Thibodeau, Paul (2017): “Metaphors for
the war (or race) against climate change”, in: Environmental Communication
11(6), 769-783.
Forceville, Charles (1994): “Pictorial Metaphor in Advertisements”, in: Metaphor
and Symbolic Activity 9(1), 1-29.
Forceville, Charles (1996): Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising, London: Routledge.
Gibbs, Raymond (2005): “Embodiement in metaphorical imagination”, in:
Pecher, Diane/Zwaan, Rolf (eds.): Grounding Cognition: the Role of
Perception and Action in Memory, Language and Thinking, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 65-93.
Gibbs, Raymond/Costa Lima, Paula Lenz/Francozo, Edson (2004): “Metaphor
is grounded in embodied experience”, in: Journal of Pragmatics 36, 1189-
1210.
Goguey, Dominique/Dubouchet, Fabien (2014): “Confrontation de l’imaginaire
de l’eau dans l’épopée latine l’Enéide de Virgile et dans l’épopée celtique
La Razzia des vaches de Cooley”, in: Ndiaye, Emilia (ed.): L’imaginaire de
l’Eau dans la Littérature Antique. Actes de la journée scientifique du congres de
l’APLAES, France: Annales de l’APLAES, 41-51.
Gonzalez, Solange (2005): “Varignon et la transubstantiation”, in: Revue
d’histoire des sciences 58(1), 207-223.
Hanne, Michael (2022): “How we escape capture by the war metaphor for
COVID-19”, in: Metaphor and Symbol 37(2), 88-100.
Hidalgo-Downing, Laura/O’Dowd, Niamh (2023): “Code red for humanity:
multimodal metaphor and metonymy in noncommercial advertisements
on environmental awareness and activism”, in: Metaphor & Symbol 38(3),
231-253.
Jamieson, Alison (2007): “Identity and morality in the Italian red brigades”, in:
Terrorism and Political Violence 2(4), 508-520.
Kövecses, Zoltán (2010): Metaphor: A Practical Introduction, Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press.
Lakoff, George (1987): Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal
about the Mind, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, George/Turner, Mark (1989): More Than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to
Poetic Metaphor, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Lemoine, Stéphanie/Ouardi, Stéphanie (2010): Artivisme: Art, Action Politique, et
Résistance Culturelle [Artivism: Art, Political Action, and Cultural
Resistance], Paris: Alternatives.
metaphorik.de 34/2023
96
Lovelock, James (2007): The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is Fighting Back and
How We can still Save Humanity, London: Penguin.
Medrado, Andrea/Rega, Isabella (2023). Media Activism, Artivism, and the Fight
against Marginalisation in the Global South, New York: Routledge.
Meijers, Marijn, et al. (2019): “Using visual impact metaphors to stimulate
environmentally friendly behavior: the Roles of responses efficacy and
evaluative persuasion knowledge”, in: Environmental Communication 13(8),
995-1008.
Musolff, Andreas (2015): “Dehumanizing metaphors in UK immigrant debates
in press and online media”, in: Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict
3(1), 41-56.
Musolff, Andreas (2016): Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenarios,
London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Nerlich, Brigitte (2010): “ClimateGate: paradoxical metaphors and political
paralysis”, in: Environmental Values 14(9), 419-442.
Nerlich, Brigitte/Hellsten, Iina (2014): “The greenhouse metaphor and the
footprint metaphor: climate change risk assessment and risk management
seen through the lens of two prominent metaphors”, in:
Technikfolgenabschätzung: Theorie und Praxis 23(2), 27-33.
Ogle, Martin (2010): “Gaia Theory: model and metaphor for the twenty-first
century”, in: Crist, Eileen/Rinker, Bruce (eds.): Gaia in Turmoil: Climate
Change, Biodepletion, and Earth Ethics in an Age of Crisis, Hong Kong and the
United States: The MIT Press, 275-291.
O’Neill, Saffron (2022): “Defining a visual metonym: a hauntological study of
polar bear imagery in climate communication”, in: TIBJ 47(4), 1104-1119.
Pérez-Sobrino, Paula (2013): “Metaphor use in advertising: analysis of the
interaction between multimodal metaphor and metonymy in a
greenwashing advertisement”, in: Gola, Elisabetta/Ervas, Francesca (eds.):
Metaphor is Focus: Philosophical Perspectives on Metaphor Use, Cambridge:
Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 67-82.
Pluchinsky, Dennis (2008): “Germany’s red army faction: an obituary”, in:
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 16(2), 135-157.
Priestland, David (2009): The Red Flag: Communism and the Making of the Modern
World, London: Allen Lane.
Rhoades, Mindi (2012): “LGBTQ youth + video artivism: arts-based critical civic
praxis”, in: Studies in Art Education 53(4), 317-329.
Roig-Palmer, Kristal/Pedneault, Amelie (2019): “Promoting higher learning
through artivism”, in: Journal of Criminal Justice Education 30(1), 91-113.
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
97
Russell, Camisha (2010): “From blood to genes: the Role of metaphor in
understandings of kinship, heredity, and race”, in: Conference proceedings of
the International Association of Women Philosophers: Feminism, Science, and
Values, https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iaph/June26/Presentations/2/ (06.10.2023).
Sandoval, Chela/Latorre, Guisela (2008): “Chicana/o artivism: Judy Baca’s
digital work with youth of color”, in: Everett, Anna (ed.): Learning Race and
Ethnicity: Youth and Digital Media, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 81-108.
Schubert, Leanne/Gray, Mel (2015): “The death of emancipatory social work as
art and birth of socially engaged art practice”, in: British Journal of Social
Work 45(4), 1349-1356.
Semino, Elena (2008): Metaphor in Discourse, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Šorm, Ester/Steen, Gerard (2018): “VISMIP: Towards a method for visual
metaphor identification”, in: Steen, Gerard (ed.): Visual Metaphor: Structure
and Process, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 47-88.
Steen, Gerard et al. (2010): A Method for Linguistic Metaphor Identification,
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Wilson, Mark (2022): “Do grapes produce blood? A problematic metaphor in
biblical texts”, in: Pharos Journal of Theology 103(36), 1-10.
9. Internet sources
Belin, Valérie (2012): “Brides”, https://valeriebelin.com/works/brides?lang=fr
(06.10.2023).
Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.): “Definition of ‘magic’”,
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/dictionnaire/anglais/magic
(12.08.2023).
Chicago, Judy (2016): “Stranded”, https://judychicago.com/gallery/the-enda-
meditation-on-death-and-extinction/extinction/ (12.08.2023).
Dodd, Vikram/Grierson, Jamie (2020): “Terrorism police list Extinction
Rebellion as extremist ideology”, https://www.theguardian.com/uknews/
2020/jan/10/xr-extinction-rebellion-listed-extremist-ideologypolice-
prevent-scheme-guidance (16.08.2022).
Extinction Rebellion (n.d.): “Arrestee Welfare”,
https://extinctionrebellion.uk/act-now/resources/arrestee-welfare/
(06.08.2022).
Greenberger, Alex (2020) : “The 20 best environmentalist artworks of the past
50 years. ARTnews”, https://www.artnews.com/feature/bestenvironmentalist-
artworks-1202684574/ (12.08.2023).
metaphorik.de 34/2023
98
IPCC (1990): “First Assessment Report”, https://www.ipcc.ch/assessmentreport/
ar1/ (12.08.2022).
Landau, Sigalit (2000): “Barbed Hula”,
https://www.sigalitlandau.com/barbed-hula-2000 (06.10.2023).
Murphy, Matt (2022) “Home Secretary to crack down on ‘disruptive’ protests
with new bill”, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63272648 (12.08.2023).
Pane, Gina (1973): “Azione Sentimentale”, https://mennour.com/artists/ginapane/
azione-sentimentale-9-novembre-1973-constat-de-l-action-realiseea-
la-galleria-diagramma-milan (06.10.2023).
Schuppli, Susan (2018): “Nature Represents Itself”,
https://susanschuppli.com/NATURE-REPRESENTS-ITSELF
(12.08.2023).
The Invisible Circus (n.d.): “About us”, https://invisiblecircus.co.uk/about-us/
(14.08.2023).
Toomey, Christine (2009): “Ecuador: the Amazon´s dirty war”,
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ecuador-the-amazons-dirty-war-
0xr0zj5jh08 (17.08.2022).
Tryl, Luke (2021): “Extinction Rebellion´s tactics are working like a charm –
even if you don´t happen to like them”,
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/extinctionrebellion-
protest-london-boris-johnson-climate-crisis-newspapersb404981.
html (16.08.2022).
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. (ongoing): “Global
warming’s six Americas”,
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/globalwarmings-
six-americas/ (06.10.2023).
Augé: The Red Rebel Brigade and the Blood Bath
99
Annexes
Text of the leaflets distributed by the Red Rebel Brigade during their
performances (from the Brigade’s official website):
Red Rebel Brigade symbolises the common blood we share with all species,
That unifies us and makes us one.
As such we move as one, act as one and more importantly feel as one.
We are unity and we empathise with our surroundings, we are forgiving
We are sympathetic and humble, compassionate and understanding,
We divert, distract, delight and inspire the people who watch us,
We illuminate the magic realm beneath the surface of all things, and we invite people to
enter in, we make a bubble and calm the storm, we are peace in the midst of war.
We are who the people have forgotten to be!