Mixed media (acrylic on canvas, synthetic hair, cotton chord, metal wire).

This piece exemplifies my interest in toying with traditional methods of painting and blurring the line between what might be considered a painting or a sculpture. In Hecho en China, a small acrylic on canvas painting of the American flag wears a beard one would typically find on a Chinese theater performer. The canvas, or “painting,” has become a 3-dimensional object itself capable of donning a disguise (of sorts).

It is no accident that the American flag is costumed in Chinese garb. The reference to the current relationship between China and the U.S. (and the United State’s dependence on China) is hopefully quite apparent. The synthetic hair out of which the beard is made was made in China (the package the hair came in said “Made in China/Hecho en China”). The 4” (H) x 5” (W) x 1” (D) pre-stretched canvas was made in Mexico.