Oxymoron

[hmmm_tea]

This is currently flying from the flagpole in the Jubilee Gardens on London's South Bank:



Mark Wallinger's Oxymoron - the British Union flag portrayed using the colours from the Irish Tricolour.

What a lovely way to question nationalism!

No idea how long it will be there, but worth a look.

Comments

[beafarhana.livejournal.com]

And upside down too.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

That actually looks pretty cool, I'd salute it if it were the flag of a unified british isles... Maybe we should do something like that with the colours of the welsh flag, to get them onto the flag.

[hmmm-tea.livejournal.com]

As it's not the Union flag, but an oxymoron, is it actually upside down?

(not entirely sure which way up the one flying in Jubilee gardens was - the wind was taunting me a kepting dying away everything I looked at it)

[hmmm-tea.livejournal.com]

Strange, looking at it I didn't think about unifying the British Isle - more breaking down cultural divides as we move towards a global society.

That said, when Kevin Davey (http://www.stewarthomesociety.org/pol/davey.htm) flew a smaller version in Belfast, it apparently took on a completely different meaning:

In one Belfast area it was seen as a symbol of national unity, corrupted by its loathsome abject. In another it was an offensive appropriation of Irishness, and further evidence of Anglo-British arrogance and insensitivity.

Strange how a simple thing can evoke so many different feelings.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised by the reaction- as soon as I saw it I thought that it would be a very inventive way to annoy both communities in NI.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

:)

When I saw it, there seemed to be many things it might say, many pointed/deadly political statements aimed at various people (starting from "UK conquers Ireland" and "Ireland conquers UK"), that I tried to avoid them. (I like the flag, but it seems like it could mean anything so I doubt I'd ever have the nerve to fly it, even if there was something particular I wanted it to mean :))