Your Reluctant Diplomat (2016)
By Jessica Hardy
A photograph of three flags pinned to a white wall. The flags are black-and-white representations of the US ‘stars and stripes’. On the floor are black and white balloons.
As an American-born person living in England, I am regularly called upon by strangers and acquaintances to explain or justify the political actions and cultural output of my home country. No other time provides as rich an opportunity for these kinds of interactions as a U.S. presidential election.
At the end of April 2016 I set up an installation and office space for three days in the Project Space of NN Contemporary Art and finally embraced the role that the English have wanted me to hold since 2008. I would be their reluctant diplomat. The public were invited to come in and discuss Donald Trump with me, an American who absolutely did not want to take responsibility for Donald Trump. But in addition to putting Donald Trump into cultural, political, and historic context, the art and subsequent discussions addressed larger issues of home, community, national identity and belonging.
More information:
