Dream Diversely is an ongoing series of reimagined U.S. flags and mottos that include Kente cloth, handed down family garments, quilt squares, pride flags, Italian lace, and other recycled materials that are embroidered and sewn. Each piece represents the desire to become a more inclusive society who recognizes diversity as a positive attribute and sign of cultural strength and ingenuity. The Dream Diversely flag hangs 15 FT down to the street and activated a working-class New Haven, CT community that I had moved back to after being evacuated along with 100 other artists from a building that was no longer up to code. The flag will also be shown in Pompano Beach, FL. Artists live in ever-shifting communities and experience nomadic practices; my work discusses delocation though approachable tactile forms. Other flags activate uncommon spaces and are installed with other objects. PlushSpace is a solo project that activated a 2 x 40 FT space as a participatory experience at ArtCenter | South Florida (PlushSpace photos are courtesy of Christian H).
Flags I Would Not is a life-size flag that examines the American Confederate flag, the Nazi flag, and media images of Trump. The Confederate government marked an era when the North and South were divided, and the flag is still raised today in the South. Visually the flag's X quite literally represents this division. The Nazi flag appropriated the ancient Hindu swastika symbol of peace, luck, and good fortune. When the artist traveled to India in 2013, she was fascinated by the chalk drawings of swastikas that she saw in the countryside and their visual contrast from the harshness of the Nazi reappropriation. The Nazi German use of the bolded symbol was to create an exclusive white race, abusing the symbol and slaughtering Jews; most Hindu representations are organic and cyclical to more closely resemble a wheel of fortune.