Allegiance

In this body of work, I explored ideas about patriotism, allegiance, immigration, and about what it means to be an American. It started because I was thinking about my own experience as an immigrant, moving to the United States when I was roughly the same age as my daughter was when I started the project. One of my vivid memories about those first few days after arriving in the middle of 4th grade was learning to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn’t really understand it and it made me uncomfortable to be making these promises so formally. More than 35 years later, I still have a complicated relationship with my country. It was founded by immigrants with idealized values of a united nation with liberty and justice for all and yet today’s America is a daily disappointment.