As a child growing up in New England, I memorized this “Authentic map of the United States”. The “figure” of the country floats on a sea blue “ground”, unhinged from the geographic reference points to the north and to the south. The weather map on the nightly news in Maine tonight shows a similar shape defining the eastern edge of the country, around which there appears to be only sea. A thesis could surely be written on all the ways this is problematic – and how this visually misleading view of North America relates directly to the insular and myopic state of the union today.
Immigrating to Canada reframed my identity as an artist and recontextualized my identity as an American citizen. My background in English and American literature has become an interest in language as power. This has caused me also to mine deeper into historical and geographical enquiry with my work. My research investigates the hegemony of English as a lingua franca and the persistent cultural imperialism of the English language and the USA on the world stage. The global reach of platforms such as twitter and Instagram - tools of neocolonialism – fascinates me.
Collaborative project pairing vintage needlepoints with trending hashtags from Instagram.
University of New Brunswick Art Centre, 2020.