Blood, White and Blue | Bryan Robinson, 2018

Materials: Cotton, Batiks
Techniques: Raw-edge appliqué, hand embroidered, machine quilted
Finished Size: 60" x 80"

The American flag has historically stood as a symbol of freedom and patriotism for our nation. It is the relic we are asked to pledge allegiance to and is flown at half staff to communicate mourning, distress, or respect. In making this quilt I wanted to highlight and acknowledge the hidden and often dismissed history of our American flag - one where the stars and stripes that connote freedom cover the blood of my ancestors, people of color, and indigenous people who gravely suffered, gave their life, or were exploited while building this nation. In present day, our country still suffers from the residue of slavery and unaddressed centering of white normative standards and systems of power and privilege. I represented the dichotomous history of our flag by maintaining the structure of the flag while making key design choices that highlight injustice - the red stripes appear as dripping blood to recognize the blood on our hands as a nation in systematically and violently oppressing people of color, the white stripes show hanging bodies to represent a stark contrast to the perceived “purity” of the color, and the stars represent outlines of killers and their victims. You’ll notice one body that is hanging has a graduation cap, that is me. I chose to put myself in the quilt to acknowledge that no matter how much I push against the system of oppression to defy the low expectations and stereotypical narratives of black men and boys - I am always going to be left unprotected and at-risk to being seen as a dangerous threat and that the reality of this is painful, unfair, and unjust. ​