TIME - I'm very proud of this country. TIME - We are in the fastest economic recovery in HISTORY!
Year: 2022
Medium: acrylic on paper
Dimensions: set of 2, 75 x 55 cm (19 1/2 x 21 3/8 in.) each
Acquired from Tokyo International Gallery, 2022
“I’m very proud of this country” is a phrase that Donald Trump used when addressing his supporters during an event he described as a “peaceful protest for law and order.” In the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020, and the societal turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, and on the eve of the presidential election, Trump sought to present himself as the embodiment of “law and order” protecting society. During this same address, Trump also made a statement to the effect that, “We are in the fastest economic recovery in history” (his actual words were, “So we are now beginning the fastest economic recovery in history”). At a time when the future was still unclear, in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, these words were spoken with the intention of calling for an early resumption of economic activity, in order to bring a halt to the economic decline. Mitobe’s “Time” series references the legendary front covers of the famous journal Time. This format, with a portrait of a person placed within a distinctive red frame, already serves to symbolize topics of international importance. Mitobe has a strong belief that a work of art functions as a force of some kind of social influence and resistance and is therefore not afraid to bring social messages into her work. The “Time” series, of which these works are a part, is a striking manifestation of this intention.
