David Nez
Flags for Endangered Species, 2022
This body of work was inspired by recent environmental legislation to extend legal “personhood” and rights to certain wild animal species to assure their protection. Indigenous leaders across the Pacific recently signed a treaty granting whale populations personhood to pressure governments to protect them from the effects of climate change. By the end of the century it is estimated that a million or more animal species could become extinct due to climate change, industrialization, deforestation, overfishing and hunting. Scientists call this the “sixth mass extinction” which is entirely the result of human action. It seemed to me only appropriate to create flags for species of endangered animals. We humans have been using animal imagery on the flags of our tribes and nations for centuries. Why not make flags for endangered animal species to promote their own nationhood, legal rights, and protection? The flags also symbolise the inherently symbiotic relationship between humans and animals, since all life depends on natural ecosystems for survival – if ecosystems collapse, so does humanity. For EKO 9, an ensemble of flags is installed above the entrance of the old sanatorium with the intention of bringing the issue of mass extinction – both animal and human – to public attention.
series of monoprints on textile, dimensions variable, courtesy of the artist
David Nez (b. 1949, Cambridge, MA, USA) lived in Ljubljana, Slovenia between 1967 and 1972, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, earning a BFA in Painting. During this period he was a member of the Slovenian avant-garde artist’s collective Group OHO, creating sculptural installations, performance art, and experimental films. Returning to the USA in 1975 he lived in Baltimore, MD and attended the Maryland Institute of Art, earning an MFA in Painting. In 1988 he studied Art Therapy at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM and has since worked as a professional art therapist. In 1992 he relocated to Portland, OR, where he currently lives and works. He has exhibited his multi-media artwork including monoprints, mixed media paintings, found object sculptures, installations, and videos in museums, art galleries, and art festivals in Europe, the USA and the UAE.
