Native Flag, 2023
Textile
35 x 51 in
88.9 x 129.5 cm
88.9 x 129.5 cm
Copyright The Artist
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'Native Flag' as presented by Mateo Blanco is the American flag with a twist. It presents like the flag we all know, but it is a collage of handwoven fabrics...
"Native Flag" as presented by Mateo Blanco is the American flag with a twist. It presents like the flag we all know, but it is a collage of handwoven fabrics in subtle, pale colors that reflect another time and place. It is a sophisticated take on a dual identity. Blanco is American but has roots in a faraway, ancestral culture. His childhood was spent in the land of his family, Colombia. In this work, he continues his use of unusual, unexpected materials to evoke the duality of identity: here but also from there. Tree bark from Monte Maria was used to create textiles woven using ancestral indigenous techniques. It serves to remind the viewer that yes, Blanco is American, but he carries another world within himself. It is a subtle, highly intelligent way to make visible the reality of so many Americans who identify with other cultural traditions. In the tradition of Jasper Johns, "Native Flag" goes a step further. It is more than a flag as a symbol; it is a flag as a signifier.