by Sadie Woods
On December 28th, 2007, artist Josué Pellot unveiled a 15 foot by 25 foot flag on the busy El Expresso de Las Americas in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, just across from the Plaza de Las Americas – the largest mall in the Caribbean. The flag is designed almost exactly like the Puerto Rican flag, with one glaring difference: Instead of a single star, the blue triangle holds 51.
As with Pellot’s work in previous solo exhibitions and collaborations - such as Bodega Dreams, Cultural Crossing, and Post-Colonialism and After - the flag installation explores the influence and symbolic meaning of colonialism and how it affects the national identity of Puerto Rico. As an island native from Aguadilla, Pellot has had first hand experience with the cultures of both the Caribbean and the United States.
“The flag is meant to create change, even if it’s metaphoric or symbolic. The 51 stars represent the 50 American states plus Puerto Rico – how a new star is added with each new state. The composition of the flag intends to make the colonized assume the role of the colonizers while representing the Puerto Rican Diaspora throughout the States.”
“Given its history with La Guerra de Las Banderas (War of the Flags) in 2004, the location of the flag along an expressway across from a giant mall is part of the piece – it serves as a perfect backdrop for a statement on consumerism and commercialism as newer forms of colonialism. Plaza de Las America is a structure in which symbolizes the current post-colonial period of globalization; its grand symbols are the three sails of the previous colonizers, the Spaniards. This flag represents the contrary, reversing the colonization process. I approach this subject in my work to provoke dialogue and new ideas, even if they seem novel. The dialogues in Puerto Rican politics have been stagnant; I look to push things forward within the framework of my art and capabilities.”
Pellot’s work seeks to incite dialogue and change. Alongside the intellectual, however, there remains the streak of a rebel with an air of street finesse.
“Aside from coloring and 'how to draw' books, my introduction to the arts came from graffiti. I began doing graffiti when I was 12 and on occasion I still indulge. Later, in college, I moved on to multimedia and conceptual art but aesthetically I still have an interest in graffiti in terms of color, cleanliness, and its public nature. As time goes by my work has been in the public sphere more and more. It sometimes teeters on the line of legality, much in the same respect as graffiti.”
Cities and municipalities have their graffiti-busters, and Hato Rey has its city workers. After video footage of the installation aired on both Telemundo and Univision, those same city workers ripped down Pellot’s flag. But not before the flag had been raised for 11 hours, including the busy morning rush.
“I wasn’t surprised nor happy about that”, Pellot says. “That project was close to my heart and my wallet. But judging by what happened, it obviously made someone think one way or another about the state of the island and so I consider it a success.”
He leans back and smiles starry eyed.
Josué Pellot Website
Woods, Sadie "Temporary Allegiance" Fluxcore Online Magazine : SEE 1 April 2008
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