The flag resurfaces throughout the exhibition in the works of Bartana, Avrahami, Ergun, and Mark Napier. Each country in the world has a flag thatidentifies it with its land, symbolizing the victory over a new territory. The best remembered image in the 20th century was that of the American flag hoisted on the rocky terrain of the moon. The emblem of one country on earth all of a sudden became the flag of the earth as a whole. At the same time, one may argue that the flag’s hoisting in outer space presents a territorial claim to the moon itself.
In the new millennium we witness different nations demanding the right of possession over a new territory – the Internet. A virtual territory is no longer a geographical location. It is a new land with various resources on which you may make claims; it is a manmade space underlain by an infrastructure that bears the potential of information, communal identity, economy and progressive politics. Those who control the hardware and software can facilitate or block access to web resources.
At the heart of this new sphere are the Internet users – today’s pioneers – who explore the potential of the virtual public domain. The first to connect had the unprecedented opportunity to explore a new notion of nationalism and personal identity. In the geographical spread of the net in dot.com, the Internet domain seems to have replaced the nation-state. Before most nations had an official representation on the net (such as an official site), they already tried to take over the new resources. From experience we know that political forces wish to dominate the virtual space. What kind of relationships will be possible in the future between the existing national identity and the domain in the virtual space?
A visitor to Napier’s net.flag views the flags of various nations and can even change their design according to his nationality, political or a-political as well as territorial views. net.flag explores the flag as an emblem of territorial identity, enabling one to adapt the visual language of the flags to ideological perceptions. The interface of the online program created by Napier provides anyone who has access to the Net an opportunity to explore nationalism’s field of form and color.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
