On Fire, 2020

As part of the political and artistic collective For Freedom’s 2020 Awakening billboard project, founded by Hank Willis Thomas, artist Phil America and arts producer Tre Borden were asked to collaborate on an artwork that would be displayed somewhere in the US.  Having spent the pandemic, racial uprisings and wildfire seasons in California we settled upon a message that offered literal and figurative commentary on the state of America. ‘On Fire, 2020’ was displayed in two locations around Minneapolis, MN the site of George Floyd’s murder and the epicenter of 2020’s racial uprisings.

Artist Statement from Phil America and Tre Borden: ‘On Fire, 2020’ is a digital artwork by artist Phil America and arts producer Tre Borden commissioned by For Freedoms. The billboard overlays two images to create an anaglyph allowing for dual perspectives. The images, one of protesters for racial justice in 2020 and the other of wildfires in California, show a country metaphorically and literally aflame.  The text banner demands we pay attention to an America besieged by the long denied realities of climate change and racism and serves as an urgent call to action.’

-Tre Borden