Are you feeling lucky? by Vicky Lindo and Bill Brookes

“This collection of work has been inspired by recent political events.  In particular, the increasing use of St George’s Cross to express anti-migrant sentiments has inspired this collection of work. A national flag is used for different purposes; it doesn’t have a single unified meaning. Various groups seek to claim the St George’s Cross for their own purposes, projecting their values onto the flag to convey their interpretation of Englishness; however, due to the diverse contexts in which the flag is used, it is easy to misinterpret someone’s motivation for displaying it.

Recently, the display of the St. George’s Cross and the Union Jack has been cynically monopolised by some groups to confer authority over their own conception of what England should be.  These groups associate themselves with tradition and history, believing that doing so will lend more weight to their point of view. But this authority is the veneer of tradition and history and doesn’t give weight to anti-migration arguments.  It just reminds us of the contradiction between the historical demonisation of foreigners and a nation built on centuries of migration. Displaying national symbols can be an expression of so many opposing things: frustration with contemporary politics, nostalgia, shameless racism, national pride, or supporting a sports team. Seeing the Westbury White Horse pinned with red fabric to make a St. George’s Cross helped me see the flags differently. Was it an act of vandalism or decoration?

The white horse seemed to embody the futility of the nationalist desire to pinpoint an idealised moment in history to return to.  Both the horse and flag’s meaning had changed; I wanted to use the flag for myself.  I choose to use the flag as a symbol of diversity; it contains so many meanings, and it represents the country as it is, good and bad. I have combined the use of the flag in our work with flora and fauna that represent my British, Jamaican and Chinese heritage.” — Vicky Lindo, 2026

Slipware pottery with sgraffito decoration.

2026

37cm diameter