ZYNKA Gallery
904 Main St, Pittsburgh, PA 15215
June 8 – July 20, 2024
Works in this exhibition explore our allegiances and how we express them. Familiar flags and emblems that visually signal our affiliations, beliefs, and values are steeped in patriotic or male-centric views that divide us by artificial borders and presume our rights to ownership of nature. This mentality also perpetuates the subjugation of women. From dowries and debts to deeds, we shed blood over seizure and control of the bodies of women and nature. For such a burden, both deserve the same agency and freedom we gain in their service.
These works propose a “matriotic” global view that defines home and our fellow “citizens” in the context of shared common wealth. This wealth – water, air, food, health, community – is contingent on our care and stewardship, not our abuse and exploitation. Stars and stripes are exchanged for a new aesthetic that puts women and nature at the forefront of our fidelity and urges that we reexamine to whom or what we pledge our allegiance.
During the exhibition, there will be a participatory artwork that asks gallery visitors ‘To whom or what do you pledge your allegiance?’ Responses will be collected like ballots and incorporated into an artwork in the gallery. For those not able to see the show in-person, submissions can be submitted online here.
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