Consuelo Jimenez Underwood American, b. 1949

As part of the artist’s Flags series, One Nation Underground hybridizes the U.S. and Mexico flags by layering them on top of each other and stitching the border across it. The southern state border flowers–California poppy, Arizona saguaro, New Mexico yucca, and Texas bluebonnet–fill the backdrop of this superimposed flag and are present on both sides of the rigid blue borderline, though they are barely visible by comparison.

"Jimenez Underwood's compelling visual narratives express the inter-connectedness of postmodern societies, insisting on beauty in the midst of struggle and celebrating the experience of being in nepantla, as this experience has enabled the artist to see and understand the world through a tricultural lens."
Clara Roman-Odio, "Flags, the Sacred, and a Different America in Consuelo Jimenez Underwood's Fiber Art," Consuelo Jimenez Underwood: Art, Weaving, Vision, Duke University Press, 2022

One Nation Underground is a large-scale textile work that combines the United States and Mexico flags. Embellished with various fibers, fabric, and barbed wire, the work references the intermingling of culture along the U.S.-Mexico border.