HOPEFUL SYMBOLISM

I was inspired by a quote from the famous sci-fi author, Arthur C. Clarke: “There is a hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags will not wave in a vacuum.” I combined printmaking with color pencil in a two part piece, carving out fabric patterns in boards composed of styrofoam balls to create rich textural variation. The first part shows flags draping down and the second part shows, below the fringes of the flags, the Earth. The piece depicts the arbitrary nature of countries. Taking a view from outer space, flags do not wave and the Earth appears as a complete entity rather than fragmented along country lines. This begs us to accept geographic and cultural differences and unite as one human race.