Charlotte – Colombian-born Edwin Gil is beginning his third conceptual art project, called "Flag of Hope," which seeks to show the diversity of North Carolina and to promote understanding by collecting the handprints of those who "are building" the state.
"The work speaks of the current moment that the world is experiencing, with the economic crisis, the instability; it's a call for reflection to join our hands and seek a solution to conflicts," Gil said in an interview with Efe.
The 39-year-old artist arrived in Charlotte in 2000, fleeing Colombia's violence after surviving an abduction in his native Medellin.
Gil is the best-known Hispanic artist in North Carolina and his works have been acquired by presidents, artists, diplomats, writers and many others.
To complete this new artistic adventure, over the next two months Gil will travel to 12 cities around the state, where he will work to collect 20,000 handprints of people of different races, sexes, sexual orientation, religion, culture and language at a crucial time for a state debating harsh anti-immigrant measures.
"It's my hope to open a window to acceptance," he said. "Through art, very great messages have been sent. That is what I'm seeking, to show, that the United States for me is a synonym for diversity, that this is the best country in the world to live in."
Gil has carried out similar projects, including "Home Sweet Home," a mural of the U.S. flag that he completed three years ago with the collaboration of more than 2,500 Hispanic students from Charlotte.
And last year, he completed "Nuestra Bandera, Nuestro Pais, Nuestro Hogar" (Our Flag, Our Country, Our Home), a 70' x 36' canvas of the Colombian flag with the handprints of 25,000 Colombians from 25 cities around the world.
He decided to use the flag concept once again this time to include other communities besides Hispanics.
The aim is to create a 16' x 44' canvas that, the artist says, would be the largest flag of diversity in the country.
"To create the horizon, which is opportunity, the future, I will use the color blue on the upper part, in the middle yellow, the transition, and below orange and red, the evenings in North Carolina, (are) the most beautiful I have seen," he said.
Gabriela Zabala, director of the North Carolina Office of Hispanic/Latino Affairs, told Efe that she hopes the flag will bring "hope," above all, to the Latino community.
"Minds have to be opened," she emphasized. "Learning to appreciate and enjoy the Hispanic culture, and I think that Gil's work will achieve that, because it combines art with the human element that never has been used to do art here."
Along with the development of the mural a documentary video will be made on which will be gathered the statements of the people who participate, who will be asked to tell what they think that diversity means.
Gil will also use the social networks of Facebook and Twitter and his Internet page - www.edwingil.com - to inform the community of the times, dates and places where he will be to collect the handprints.
The painting will ultimately be delivered to the government in Charlotte on April 30, when the national day of the immigrant will be celebrated.
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