#433 Flag

Filler on board, oak panel.
I wanted to do this piece for many years, perhaps inspired by Jasper John's famous flag works. After the Swedish elections this fall (2022), I found it more urgent than ever. The nationalist, far-right party SD turned out to be the second largest on an anti-immigration, racist agenda. Developing in a few years from a fringe Neonazi position, it now follows the global trend of rising fascism. It scares me.
There are reasons to be sceptical about nationalism and patriotic sentiment. States are an integral part of the capitalist system. Supporting a rigid view of national inherency and what it entails means protecting global privilege, inequality and oppression.
Western nationalism today utilises a nostalgic approach, but we must consider that the prior posterity was closely linked to a European colonial past. Nostalgia is seductive - I also miss the country I left, that no longer exists, but it's crucial to analyse these feelings and not succumb to fear, bitterness and hate. Any nation not open to change inevitably will fail. A state must be hospitable and compassionate to earn a reason to exist. Building a fortress also means creating a prison.