Peace Was Once a Nobel Cause

This banner is my reflection on the current state of world diplomacy and the staggering scale of armed conflict in the twenty-first century.

The Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 55 active state-based armed conflicts in 2022. Eight of these reached the level of war. Twenty-two were internationalized, meaning that one or both parties received troop support from an external state. Fatalities from organized violence in 2022 increased by 97% compared to the previous year. The Nobel Peace Prize, once a symbol of humanity's aspiration toward resolution, feels increasingly detached from the reality on the ground.

Like so many people, I mourn the loss of life worldwide and feel utterly helpless. I turned to textiles to help me sit with that helplessness. Not to fix anything, but to process the current state of conflict through the slow, deliberate act of cutting and stitching.

Materials

The banner is made from my husband's and my old shirts. The batting and backing came from a thrift store. The letters are cut from a long-forgotten family tablecloth, a domestic object repurposed into a political one. There's something fitting about using the materials of everyday life to spell out a message about the failure of diplomacy. These are the fabrics of home, turned into a statement about what happens when the world can't find its way back to the table.

2024 · Repurposed clothing, vintage tablecloth · 55" × 27" / 140 × 68 cm