Home of the Brave

In recent days I was driving in a neighboring town and noticed a heavily weathered and distressed American Flag hanging next to the house entrance. The sight of this flag instantly created an emotional connection with what is happening in the United States since the current President took office: the dismantling of the government, the cuts of funding in education and medical research, the proliferation of a paramilitary masked army of black-masked men, the deployment of the National Guards to instigate fear in the population, the instauration of concentration camp(s) for Hispanics, etc. I instantly translated the image of this distressed flag into a possible photographic project, in which the blue section of the flag with the stars would be a backdrop and the red stripes would be placed in a vertical orientation suggesting prison bars. Inside this “cell”, people from different ethnic backgrounds (Hispanics, Americans of African descent, Asians, Indians, and Americans of European descents) would be standing and their portraits taken. But this cliche image soon faded away. In the month of September of the current year 2025 I participated in a group exhibition entitled "Americana Recall” (https://www.americanarecallgroupartshow.com/). Artist Kathleen Anderson had a piece in this exhibition that was entitled “Stars Dance Flagpole” (see photo below). In her written statement about the artwork, the artist wrote that it “references traditional indigenous people’s Sun dance…”, and that “my starts dance flagpole, with multiple American flags cut up and pieced together, represents my yearning for a kinder and enlightened leadership lacking in our present culture”. Admiring Kathleen's art piece I immediately thought of the possibility that I could borrow for a photo project, and little by little the two flag’s inspired ideas merged into one, with Kathleen’s positive vision prevailing on the final project. This is an upcoming project that photographer and videographer Natasha Scully and I are developing. We are looking for participants! Please come back to get more information!