Flagged for Deletion

Created in the lead-up to the United States Semi quincentennial in 2026, Flagged for Deletion reflects on how artists across generations have transformed the American flag into a site of critique, resistance, and collective reflection. Building on the legacy of artists such as Jasper Johns, Faith Ringgold, David Hammons, and Dread Scott, the work reimagines the flag not as a fixed patriotic emblem, but as a contested surface shaped by censorship, memory, and political struggle.

The title plays on the dual meaning of “flagging”—both a symbol of national identity and an act of marking something for removal or erasure. Layers of ink, typography, and fragmented words—censored, banned, gender, climate science, Gulf of Mexico—surface and disappear beneath scraped textures and overprinted bands, evoking a digital warning system in which histories are redacted, voices silenced, and truths overwritten. Through the handmade processes of letterpress printing and drawing on wood, the work connects contemporary anxieties around censorship and disinformation to the long history of print as a tool for protest, public discourse, and democratic resistance.

54” H x 72” W x 1.75” D
Letterpress print, ink, and graphite on paper and wood panel