I was interested in why people are so attached to this sign and why the flag symbol is so important to people. What is its meaning and sense? Why is this symbol used as a sign of national identity that separates people from others by delimiting a territory from another territory. Therefore I was using different materials to ‘neutralize’ it, like in the work “No-Man’s Land Flag” from 1997-1998.
In this particular painting, I was interested in where the symbol of the German flag comes from. First, I was looking for an answer to this question on the internet but I did not find a reasonable answer to it, then I asked people about it here (in Germany). It turned out that from the persons I asked about it, no one was able to give me an answer. Does the symbol have any meaning at all for the Germans?
As I found out later, it is an essential matter that the bottom field of the German flag should not be yellow, but golden. The genesis of the German flag goes back to the 19th century and is associated with German troops that fought against the occupation of German territory by Napoleon’s army. These units were called “Lucifer Jäger”. Their uniforms were black with red lapels and gold buttons. And these colors became the basis of the German flag.
However, according to the rules of heraldry, the space between the colors should be separated by white metal, and colors should not touch each other, as is the case with the German flag. So, the current flag of Germany is somewhat simplified. That’s why I decided to make the image of the German flag as it should look according to the history of its creation.

Ryszard Wasko