daàPò réo

National flags freeze the history and heritage of countries into onedimensional statements. I produce mixed media flags and textile installations that are not unique to any land or people, but rather intertwine narratives of individual experiences in a global age, with collective memory and composite accounts of events across space and time. I am Nigerian-born and a naturalized U.S. citizen; my artistic practice draws on autobiographical material and my subject matter deals with shifts in perspective, reversible identities, and the intricate networks of threads connecting universal chronology and circumstances with our personal timelines and interactions as humans.

My most recent body of work weave sociocultural, economic, and political commentaries on the twists and turns that have shaped the world we live in, the experiences of being human in the 21st century. I feature the American flag as a recurring motif for its symbolic significance. It’s one of the most recognizable national banners worldwide, the U.S. flag epitomizes a sense of home and pride in one’s identity, but also the face of the Western world, of its imperialistic liberalism and recent drift to the political right. I use it as a catalyst for conversations, a canvas to crystallize ideas and feelings, and cross-examine a variety of themes.