New York-based artist Adam Helms investigates the images, symbols, and emblems associated with violent or fringe political groups and subcultures. He challenges us to consider the persistence of the romanticization of extremist ideologies and what he calls the “ethos of violence, ” both past and present.
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In Untitled Landscape, Helms blends emblems and images from a range of subcultures. On the central flag, Helms blended historical images and iconic symbols referencing the Symbionese Liberation Army, Chechen separatist rebels, the U.S. Civil War, and the socialist revolutionary Che Guevara. The photolithographs compare the encampments of two radical groups, Chechen rebels and contemporary American hippies, who both attempt to live beyond the reach of prevailing authorities. In juxtaposing and recontextualizing images of resistance from very different historical circumstances, Helms opens up historical and cultural narratives to new interpretations.
