THE WONDER AND THE WARNINGS OF ROSE FINN-KELCEY
FRIEZE MAGAZINE
Reflecting on the artist’s enduring influence as her flag flies over Tate Britain in London.
Written by Goshka Macuga
..."It is remarkable to me that, in the early 1970s, Finn-Kelcey was already commenting on the relationship between humans and their environment in the context of climate change. Yet, 50 years on, we have done little to heed those ‘gale warnings’. Finn-Kelcey argued that flags reflect upon ephemerality, value and the power of words, highlighting how we communicate, interpret and amplify messages. Moreover, by their very nature, flags demonstrate how a message can change from truth to absurdity with a sudden shift in the wind. They can also be read as metaphors for a political climate, a commentary on how attitudes change in fundamental – though not necessarily truthful – ways, depending on which direction the winds of history blow. In the current social and cultural context, this seems highly poignant."