sanda iliescu

Rendered in somber tones of black and dark gray, Dark Flag is a painting of a melancholy, richly textured American flag that invites viewers to meditate on the tragedy of gun violence in our country. In the fall of 2022, one hundred community volunteers helped paint Dark Flag. Many contributors added writing and drawings on the flag and, in one case, stitchwork. As part of their participation in the Dark Flag project, I asked contributors what the American flag meant to them. Early on, one of the contributors wrote on the flag, in bold lettering, the names of the three UVA students murdered on November 14, 2022. From then on, many of the additions to the flag referenced this tragedy on the UVA grounds. Dark Flag became a memorial to the three slain students: Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, Jr., and D’Sean Perry. It is now in the UVA permanent art collection and is displayed at the main university library.

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