Oh, wheatpasting…
From the River / To The Sea / Palestine Will Be Free
Wheatpasting is a commonly used method for dispatching radical political ideas into the world. As an alternative to putting up posters with tape or a stapling gun, wheatpasting is notoriously harder to remove, even with tools and solvents. Wheatpaste is an adhesive concocted simply from flour and water. That adhesive can then be used to adorn your environment with art, propaganda, or any kind of messaging. Although many artists wheatpaste seemingly apolitical material, the legality of wheatpasting can be questionable, making the practice inherently political. Like graffiti, wheatpasting interjects one’s own thoughts and feelings into an urban landscape. All over the world, artists are wheatpasting posters for a liberated Palestine and an end to the Israeli ethnostate. With millions of U.S. dollars invested into the Israeli occupation state, much of which sponsors propaganda, dispelling Zionist misinformation is critical for cultivating mass resistance from within the imperial core. Without the money and resources of the state, wheatpasting is an accessible tool for spreading messages that empower us to fight for a better world.
Many online resources on wheatpasting recipes claim their recipe is the best and so do I. My recipe is very simple:
1 part all purpose flour
4 parts water
1 tsp of glitter
Many people swear by sugar, baking soda, or salt for maximum stickiness. Personally, I have not noticed a difference. You will endure plenty of trial and error to find a recipe that works for you. As with any skill, the more energy you put into it, the more you can refine the process. Here is how I get ideal, school-glue consistency wheatpaste:
Bring water to a boil under medium heat
Add one fourth cup of flour at a time, constantly mixing in between to avoid clumps
Add water at the end if paste is too thick
(Optional, I suppose) Mix glitter into the paste after paste is done cooking
You can spread art, ideas, and news as soon as you have a desirable texture. Sometimes making wheatpaste can be an ordeal, so I prefer to prepare it one day before a flyering run. It stores nicely in a refrigerated air-tight container for a couple days. One way to divide the labor of getting ready for a wheatpasting run is to have one person cook the paste and another person printing posters. The most effortless way to print posters is by screenprinting or with a printer. Standard 8.5’’x11’’ printer paper works wonderfully for wheatpasting, as does newsprint. Thinner paper is best for since it lays more flatly against surfaces, making it difficult to tear away.
The act of wheatpasting is pretty straightforward:
Paint a generous coat of paste on surface
Place a poster on top - poster should be as flat as possible
Slather another generous coat on top
Make sure edges are secured to surface
I usually pour my paste into a plastic 40oz cup and leave a wide paintbrush inside. I keep my posters inside a bag and pull them out only when I’m affixing them to a surface. Some online resources recommend pouring wheatpaste into a dish soap bottle and squeezing it directly into the surface you intend to decorate. More intense wheatpasting runs can involve a bucket, but I have never had the stamina to go through that much paste in one night.
You can choose to test wheatpasting on different surfaces, but I have seen my own work endure the longest on smooth surfaces. Wheatpaste material on smooth surfaces like metal utility boxes, stop signs, and billboards can withstand removal attempts. Porous surfaces like wood and concrete hold water and can make the paper break down easier in wetter climates. Uneven surfaces like brick make your material more susceptible to being torn down. As you go about your life, you can take note of dense surfaces with high visibility for future wheatpasting campaigns.
Some thing to keep in mind while on a run:
Practice situational awareness and operational security
Dress in nondescript clothing and wear face coverings to conceal your identity (alternatively, you can wear high visibility gear if you are planning to wheatpaste in a conspicuous spot, like a billboard)
Bring extra disposable gloves to smooth down your poster with minimal mess
When we remember that wheatpasting is a method of disrupting public opinion, we can be strategic about how to amplify our messages. Composition, multiplicity, and location are all worth considering. When it comes to wheatpaste material, you can design your own or find readily available material online. I am currently working on compiling an archive of wheatpasting material from online and community resources. Easy to read and high contrast graphics with clear messaging are best. Most people come across wheatpasted material while commuting through a city. Taking the time to admire your work as a driver or pedestrian can inform the processes and decisions on your next wheatpasting run.
Wheatpasting alone is very difficult. I try to plan missions in groups of three: one person to handle the wheatpaste, another to place the poster, and the third to keep watch. You may want more than three people in a crew if you are planning a particularly risky mission or if you live in an area with an empowered law enforcement presence. Part of wheatpasting is community - sowing the seeds of discontent with systems of oppression is a beautiful way to consecrate a friendship. Just one hour into your first wheatpasting run, you will develop a rhythm with your co-conspirators that lends itself to silly and supportive moments. We get free together. We get free through laughter and struggle, both of which are part of wheatpasting. For those of us with the ability and capacity to disemminate dreams of liberation, wheatpasting is a worthwhile and sustaining form of direct action.
