7 Flags of St. Croix

My husband and I have been married for 16 years and our 6 month missions trip in the fall of 2016 was the craziest thing we’ve ever done together. Well, besides the road trip to Barrow across the frozen sea and tundra, and moving to Fairbanks for a summer while I finished my art education degree. Our decision to quit our well-paying jobs and take the younger 2 of our 4 boys with us to Kona for a Discipleship Training School was a BIG deal.

I think deep down, both of us knew we needed something BIG to happen. Maybe this would be the experience that would hurl us into our destiny. Maybe this would be the fix for all our restlessness, yearning, contention between us- like the missing piece to a puzzle- finally, we would know what we were called to do together. Global missions could be the answer. And when we got a very clear call from the Lord, we were all in.
It’s GO time. Let’s do this.

That giant leap of faith led us to the tiny island of St. Croix, a territory owned by the United States. It has been purchased by 7 different nations (Spain, England, Holland, France, The Knights of Malta, and Denmark) since its discovery by Columbus in 1493. Slave population from Africa well outnumbered the sugarcane plantation owners since they were pioneered on the island around 1750. Celebrated annually, Transfer Day is the local holiday that marked the 100th year of being a U.S. territory while our family was there in 2017.

After an inspiring dream I had while on mission of a woman wrapped in an American Flag, swirling in fetal position underwater, I started experimenting with a GoPro and willing team members for photoshoots with the American flag. These images were taken from a jump off the Fredericksted Pier- home to modern day cruise ships and historical port for slave trading ships that carried an exuberant weight in luxurious goods.

 

 

This pier is also known as the hotspot for finding hidden treasure called Chaney; broken pieces of fine china that may date back as early as the 17th century. As ships docked at Fredricksted Pier after a long journey, broken dinnerware (and other non-essentials) would be thrown into the sea to avoid taxes based on weight. 

Original Chaney pieces from st. Croix 

Another explanation for the broken china found along beaches and plantations on St. Croix is the slave rebellion and the infamous ‘Fireburn’ of 1878. In pursuit of their freedom, slaves looted and burned the wealthy plantations and many of the items were destroyed.

All of the 7 paintings in this series began with subtle suggestions of Chaney design with the ornamental motifs of filigree pattern spray stenciled in the water (as evident in #6 France & #7 USA) or tattooed on the skin as in Flag #1 England.

"Flag #6 France"

"Flag #7 USA"

 

"Flag #1 England"

As I began to experiment with a more free-flowing pour painting technique to express the dynamic movement of the ocean, some of the broken china suggestions were covered.

"Flag #2 Denmark"

"Flag #4 Spain"

"Flag #5 Holland"

"Flag #3 Knights of Malta"

It was also important that the figurative subjects in the paintings reflect the diversity of the Crucian population that consists of 77% Black (African American or African Caribbean), 10.5% White, and 12.4% Other Races with 17% of the population reporting Hispanic origins.

President Trump had just been elected the month before we arrived in St. Croix. I remember a conversation with a local woman named Angela in her mid-forties expressing her opposition to the presidential policies proposed. As a Crucian citizen, she had no voting rights in the election, and was almost paralyzed in fear of whom she considered a racist President. I found out that she had been a victim of domestic violence in 2 previous relationships and was looking over her shoulder a couple times in our conversation- hoping her abuser wasn’t near. She went on to explain that she depended on government assistance for her housing and food as the economy was in a depression and jobs were scarce. Her mother and grandmother were also dependent on these programs that were facing reform under Trump’s plan. Angela’s entire foundation was breaking in that traumatic season.

I did not have to look hard to realize this brokenness was common. The U.S. Virgin Islands has the fourth highest murder rate in the world, according to a study done by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). There were 6 murders in January alone in 2017 while we were there. Only 30% of the population lives in married families. 48% of the island housing is occupied by single mothers. With respect to children in families that receive public support, 86% (15,856) of all USVI children (0-18 years) received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

I'm not sure at what point exactly, I began to personally identify with Angela- with the brokenness of St. Croix and the shaking of foundational systems. (Read Deconstruction & Broken Pieces) I realized my story, although lived through the context of what many would define as white privilege, carried the weight of familiar pain and the distance between “us” and “them” began to diminish in many ways.

The beautiful Chaney treasures I found along the way were like the missing pieces I was looking for before our family mission began. I just didn't know they would reflect the broken pieces in my own soul.