01 · The origins

From hacker culture
to graphic journalism

The collaboration with Dario Morgante took shape in Julian Assange. Dall’etica hacker a WikiLeaks, published by BeccoGiallo in 2011. The book explores Assange’s story and the culture around WikiLeaks through documentary research, cinematic references and a visual narrative that moves between different moments in his life.

Pietrasanta · 2011

WikiLeaks at La Subbia Gallery

The WikiLeaks exhibition at Galleria la Subbia, within DOCartoon, the festival of animated documentary and nonfiction comics.

Cotignola · 2011

Julian Assange: From Hacker Ethics to WikiLeaks — Palazzo Sforza

Original pages and a presentation with Dario Morgante at Palazzo Sforza.

Ferrara · 2013

Whispers and Cries in Digital Democracy

At Zuni, drawings became the starting point for workshops and conversations on information, privacy and hacker ethics.

The early portraits · 2011

WikiLeaks has many faces

The first group of portraits looks beyond a single protagonist. The archive includes journalists, collaborators, lawyers and family members connected to the story, alongside drawings of Chelsea Manning. Later works return to Manning, Edward Snowden and Jeremy Hammond, expanding the visual record of whistleblowing and digital dissent.

Portrait · 2011

Portrait Julian Assange

Portrait · 2011

Kristinn Hrafnsson

Portrait · 2011

John Pilger

Portrait · 2011

Gavin MacFadyen

Portrait · 2011

Vaughan Smith

Portrait · 2011

Mark Stephens

Portrait · 2011

Björn Hurtig

Portrait · 2011

Jacob Appelbaum

Portrait · 2011

Daniel Schmitt

Portrait · 2011

Daniel Assange

Portrait · 2011

Julian Assange

Portrait · 2011

Chelsea Manning

The linked historical posts retain their original titles, including the name used for Chelsea Manning at the time.

02 · Drawings for freedom

Images made to circulate

Across the years of asylum and imprisonment, the drawings became repeated calls for attention. They range from the Embassy Cat images and the DiEM25 intervention around the 2017 G20 to We are all Julian Assange!, Free Assange Now and portraits centred on the human cost of detention.

In 2021, the archive records participation in DiEM Voice’s Raise your voice for Assange!, a portrait shared by Ai Weiwei, and an interview in which Costantini reaffirmed his commitment to asking for Assange’s release. Posts on Postcards for Political Prisoners and Run for Our Rights also document Ai Weiwei’s solidarity initiatives.

2021 · A shared image

This is not about me, it’s about you! Julian Assange

A portrait and message circulated by Ai Weiwei.

2021 · DiEM Voice

Julian Assange Campaign: raise your voice for Assange!

An international online exhibition supporting the campaign for Assange.

2022 · Family

Free my Dad

Gabriel Assange and the appeal “Free my Dad”.

2024 · Stella and her sons

Free Julian Assange Now!

A drawing placing the family at the centre of the demand for freedom.

2017 · DiEM25 / Hamburg

Julian Assange – DiEM25 @G20

A drawing accompanying Assange’s intervention on cyberwar and power.

2016 · Embassy Cat

Julian Assange and the cat – Embassy Cat

The embassy years told through another register: everyday companionship.

03 · Beyond the studio

The drawings in
people’s hands

The archive documents images travelling through demonstrations, cultural events and individual gestures of solidarity. These photographs and reports show how a drawing can remain visible through the people who print it, hold it and share it.

Boston · 2021

Boston Rally to #FreeAssange

A rally highlighting the Iraq War Logs and the anniversary of Collateral Murder.

Venice · 2021

Julian Assange in Venice

“We are all Julian Assange!” in public space.

Boston · 2022

Roger Waters: This is not a Drill

Assange Defence campaign tables during Roger Waters’ This Is Not a Drill tour.

Strasbourg · Action in 2022

Drawings at the Council of Europe

Andrej Konstantin Hunko with Costantini’s illustrations outside the Council of Europe. Documented in a 2023 post.

London · February 2024

Journalism is not a Crime

Day X photographs by Peter Schwarz, with Can Dündar, Davide Dormino, Matt Ó Branáin and Kristinn Hrafnsson.

Berlin · October 2024

Roland, an active citizen from Berlin…

Roland displays the drawing made for Stella Assange on the International Day of Nonviolence.

• Rome, May 2022 — the appeal against extradition with Amnesty International
• Naples, November 2023 — The Social Drawing at Maschio Angioino, during the honorary citizenship programme
• Anything to Say? — a dialogue with Davide Dormino’s Monument to Courage

04 · The graphic novel · Altreconomia · 2024

Julian Assange

WikiLeaks and the Fight for Freedom of Information

Words by Dario Morgante.
Drawings by Gianluca Costantini.

The 2024 edition returns to a story first told in 2011, following the world of hackers, the emergence of WikiLeaks and the struggle over freedom of information. The renewed edition connects that original work to the years that followed.

With contributions by Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, and Sheila Newman, activist and hacker. Published with the patronage of Amnesty International Italia.

PublisherAltreconomia

Publication24 May 2024

Pages160 · black and white

Format17 × 24 cm · paperback

ISBN9788865165386

LanguageItalian

The book at AltreconomiaRead the preview · PDFComplete book page

The book meets its readers

Conversations in public

Bologna · 2024

Anything to Say? Julian Assange, Bologna

The book enters a public conversation on courage and freedom.

Capaccio Paestum · 2024

Giving Face, Giving Voice. An exhibition by Gianluca Costantini.

Drawing, education and human rights meet at Biblioteca Erica.

Santarcangelo · 2024

The Trust Fall: Julian Assange

Cinema and graphic journalism in dialogue.

• 4 June · Rome — Latte Bookstore, with Dario Morgante, Riccardo Noury and Davide Dormino.
• 13 June · Bologna — On the chair of Davide Dormino’s Anything to Say? in Piazza Nettuno.
• 16 June · Catanzaro — Nuvola festival, with Andrea Celia Magno and Antonio Liotta.
• 3 July · Reggio Emilia — Centro Sociale Gattaglio, with the Free Assange movement and Amnesty International: a presentation became a birthday celebration after the release.
• 28 September · Bologna — Villa Paradiso, with Piero di Domenico and CRAP.
• 4 October · Capaccio Paestum — Biblioteca Erica: workshop, book presentation and the exhibition Giving Face, Giving Voice.
• 5 October · Genoa — Book Pride at Palazzo Ducale, with Dario Morgante.
• November · Santarcangelo di Romagna — The Trust Fall screening and a conversation with Giovanni Boccia Artieri at Supercinema.

Dates follow the book’s documented 2024 tour and the linked event posts. The Santarcangelo sources give inconsistent day-level dates; the event is therefore listed by month.

Publications & critical debate

The work in print
and conversation

The books and drawings have been discussed in Italian and international media. The record includes reviews, interviews and critical readings, as well as the portrait accompanying Marta Serafini’s 2024 interview with Gabriel Shipton in 7 / Corriere della Sera.

7 / Corriere della Sera · 2024

Our First Moment Together: A Bonfire on the Beach

Costantini’s portrait accompanies the interview with Assange’s brother, with a reference to the new book.

Corriere di Bologna · 2024

Assange and WikiLeaks in Costantini’s Graphic Novel

Daniela Corneo on the renewed graphic novel and the artist’s commitment.

Il manifesto / Alias · 2024

Julian Assange’s Fight for Freedom, in Comics

Virginia Tonfoni on the republication and the campaign for freedom.

05 · June 2024 and beyond

Hello.
I am free.

After years of drawing the demand for freedom, a different image became possible.

The posts of 25 and 26 June 2024 mark Assange’s release with drawings of Julian, Stella, Gabriel and Max, and the words “Hello. I am free.” In July, Costantini shared the supporters’ video made by Stella Assange and reflected on being part of that collective effort.

The work continued after the release: through a family portrait in the press, the birthday event in Reggio Emilia, and the first anniversary in 2025. In Brussels, the anniversary gathering also brought the campaign for Assange into dialogue with Costantini’s portraits of journalists killed in Gaza.

Julian, Stella, Gabriel and MaxThe supporters’ video

Brussels · June 2025

Julian Assange, Gaza, and the Portraits Defending Journalism in Brussels

Free.Assange.Belgium and the portraits defending journalism at Place de la Monnaie.

June 2025 · One year later

Assange’s First Year of Freedom: Between Family, Activism, and Fragile Health

The archive’s reflection on the first anniversary of Assange’s freedom.

A wider field of solidarity

Sources, witnesses
and digital dissent

The WikiLeaks archive also gathers drawings of Chelsea Manning’s imprisonment and release, a portrait of Edward Snowden during the NSA disclosures, and a call for Jeremy Hammond’s freedom. These works belong to the same sustained attention to the people who expose information and to the consequences they face.

Chelsea Manning · 2017

Okay, so here I am everyone!!

A portrait at the time of her release.

Edward Snowden · 2013

NSA Spying Scandal

The NSA spying scandal in the drawing archive.

Jeremy Hammond · 2016

Jeremy Hammond – Free!

A portrait and call for freedom.

Budapest, 2017: the gathering for Chelsea Manning’s release · Chelsea Manning — Free May 17! · Chelsea Manning and AnonUK Radio

The complete record · 90 posts · 2011–2025

An archive of
drawing and commitment

Every post from the two source tags appears below once, including drawings with no accompanying text, exhibition records, book pages, interviews and reviews. Dates are the original post dates; event dates may differ.