For more than 40 years, the Portuguese lived under a fascist dictatorship, which tortured and killed thousands of people. The blue pencil, used to censor artists, became a symbol of repression.

Penguin Random House is one of the most respected publishers in the world. However. Despite having published influential Portuguese authors, Penguin is not yet seen as a brand connected with the local culture.

Carnation Revolution’s 50º anniversary, Penguin Books offered blue pencils (used in the dictatorship to censor artists) to contemporary artists so that, inspired by the blackout poetry technique, they could re-invent the fascist constitution with poems using words selected from the historic document and illustrations covering the remaining ones.

11 illustrators covered the historical document with their blue pencils, giving birth to 58 original illustrations in perfect harmony with the poems. A symbol of repression turned into an art manifesto celebrating freedom.

Each illustrator received a different page with the words already selected by the poets. They now had to cover the remaining ones with an original illustration made with a blue pencil. That's why, despite the different illustration styles, they have remarkable synchrony.