Nú Barreto – Etats Désunis d’Afrique!/Criblés
Multidisciplinary artist Nú Barreto’s body of work explores the universality of poverty, violence and corruption, with a dedicated focus on the socio-political landscape of the African continent.
Etats Désunis d’Afrique!/Criblés is part of the artist’s larger series Disunited States of Africa, which he began in 2008. Nú Barreto revisits the American flag using the pan-African color scheme (red, yellow black and green) replacing each of the 50 starts by a representation of an African state. The scattered positioning of the stars alludes to the disunity across African countries. The prevalence of red and yellow translates the despair and bloodshed of ongoing wars and post-colonialism while green symbolises hope.
Like Jasper Johns’ American Flags, this series speaks to the visual power of flags and their inherent cultural and historical ambiguities.
Galerie Nathalie Obadia
3 rue du Cloître Saint-Merri
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75004 Paris
France
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1050 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 2 648 14 05
