CONTEXTUAL MEANING OF COLOUR IN SELECTED PROTEST POSTERS OF RUSSIA’S FEBRUARY 2022 ATTACK ON UKRAINE

Abstract

War has the tendency to spark off different actions and reactions from those dirrectly involved in the war and those not involved. Posters are some ways through which reactions are displayed agaisnts war actions; meanings are conveyed not only through words, but also through other semiotic resources like colour. The aim of the study is to reveal insights into the different layers of meaning colours add to other semiotic elements in chosen posters of the February 2022 Russia versus Ukraine war. To achieve the aim of the study, the study adopts the qualitative method of enquiry into the meanings colour can add to semiotic elements in posters. Nineteen posters were purposively chosen and downloaded from online, and analysed using insights from Social Semiotic theory. The objectives of the study are: to find out the different shades of meaning dicernable in the colours used in the posters; to examine how anger is encoded in the protest posters of Russia versus Ukraine war. The study found that colour, a semiotic element has great meaning potentioals; colour red prevalent in most of the posters symbolise Russia, and connote danger, anger, and warning; colour blue and yellow in some posters symbolise Ukraine, and connote resillience and peace. The study concludes that colour is very powerful in the conveyance of meaning, and context helps to add the right meaning to colours. It is recommended that poster creators should use semiotic elements that are relevant to meaning creation in whatever situation they try to portray.