Confluence (All the Nations of the Earth)

2017

Single channel HD Video

5 min clip (full duration: 40 mins)

The video is a paced compositing of the flags of 241 nations and territories on Earth creating one polychromatic, amalgamated flag, simultaneously representing all nations. In an age of increased isolationism, fanaticism and reactive nationalism, the abstracted design, as well as shared and opposing graphic elements of the flags, confuse and distort any simplistic national ensign and understanding. This project blurs the boundaries of nationalism to expose the complexities of immigration, globalism and proposes an emblem of our shared, planetary existence.

The soundtrack is a recording from the voyager spacecraft as it listened in on the sounds created by and around the Earth as it traveled though our solar system and into deep space. The flags are inserted in alphabetical order using the ISO basic Latin alphabet.* The entire video runs on a loop for 40 mins.

*The ISO basic Latin alphabet is a Latin-script alphabet and consists of two sets of 26 letters, codified in various national and international standards and used widely in international communication.