Left Behind

Left Behind is a mono-print created from a hand-carved American flag block, born of reverence, anguish, and unyielding respect for those who gave everything in service. This piece is a tribute to the brave souls of the United States Armed Forces—young women and men who volunteered to protect not only their homeland, but to fight and fall in lands far from their own.

As I painted and printed this flag, I tried to capture not just color or form, but memory—infusing it with the hues of soldier’s uniforms, the spilled blood, and the rough texture of foreign soil. This work carries the weight of those who never came home, whose bodies were buried in distant lands, and those for whom no trace was ever found.

As a veteran and immigrant, I hold a unique perspective—full of pride and confusion, admiration and sorrow. I’ve never understood why so many of our brightest are lost in battles fought under the banner of “national interest,” in conflicts that feel far removed from our own soil and our collective understanding.

Yet I am endlessly moved by the fact that in the United States, military service is a choice. Our armed forces are made up of volunteers—people who willingly stand for something larger than themselves. That choice, that courage, demands honor.

This flag is not pristine. It does not wave in the wind. It is grounded, stained, and heavy. It speaks for those who cannot speak. It mourns. It remembers. It refuses to forget. And in doing so, it asks us to reflect not only on those we’ve lost, but on the reasons why they were lost.