“Is a language a flag? / What is a flag on stolen land? ”
“Is a language a flag?” is a set of custom national flags that explore the interconnections between language, nationalism, and land. Subverting both the dominance of ‘official’ languages and the colonial logics of a flag (including their association with the doctrine of discovery), the work incorporates the artist’s native tongue, Igbo, and attempts to chart new understandings of the relationship racialized immigrants have with the lands they now call home and its first inhabitants.
Key words: land; language; nationalism; settler-colonialism; imperialism; Black-Indigenous relations; newcomer-Indigenous relations; anti-imperial solidarities
Is a language a flag? / What is a flag on stolen land?, custom flags (3’ x 6’) and video installation, Ottawa, 2022
Toronto, 2023
Vancouver, 2023
