Africa Banner, 1966

Fahlström spent his youth in Paris and Stockholm before moving to New York in 1961, where initially he was a poet and art critic. He brought a cross-cultural perspective to the themes in his artwork, often involving global politics and
economics. In Africa Banner, geopolitical boundaries are removed; and, instead, the continent is envisioned as a fluid system, potentially as pliable as the fabric the work is composed of. Much of Fahlström’s work takes the shape of maps and diagrams, and combines comic book aesthetics, political subject matter, and biomorphic forms to playfully critique geopolitical world order. By depicting Africa as a soft, ambiguous form, Fahlström provides the viewer with a fresh perspective of the landmass, suggesting the need for a new frame of reference around its cultures, societies, and political realities.