How I Keep Looking Up

photo of several large, colorful flags, hanging on a wall in a room with tables and shelves

Another view of the same room, with another flag hanging in front of a glass wall partitioning the room from a corridor.

A fluorescent yellow, white, and black flag hangs in front of a glass wall.

a sketch in black marker on white paper with three fill-in boxes. each box has a black plus sign on the left.

photo of a fluorescent yellow and white flag on a white background

A marker drawing on textured paper with a circle and cross with waves around it.

A photo of a flag hanging on a white wall a circle and a cross in yellows, oranges, purples, and blue, with a black background

A drawing of a triangular flag with a yellow emblem of wheat on a green background with a red border.

A drawing of a flag bisected diagonally. The upper left triangle is divided into fragments with black lines. The lower right triangle consists of 3 horizontal bars of purple, pink, and yellow.

A photo of a flag sewn based on the design in the previous image.

Drawing of a green eye with a yellow outline on a blue background.

photo of a flag based on the design in the previous image

A tricolor flag of yellow, blue, and red vertical bands with a circle in the middle of various colors.

A photo of a flag based on the design in the previous image

a crayon drawing of a flag design with blue on the top half and green on the bottom half, separated by a thick, jagged black line.

Photo of a flag with the same design as in the previous image.

A pencil drawing of a figure lying in a face mask, held up by the elastics by two large hands.

Photo of a flag of the same design as the previous image. The mask is green, and the background is light grey. The hands are shades of light brown.

A marker drawing of a flag design. The flag is bisected diagonnally. The lower half of the diagonal is yellow. The upper half is red. The middle has a purple lotus in a white diamond shape.

A drawing of a flag with a purple bar across the top and another purple bar across the bottom. In the middle is a pink bar, with two large left and right arrows, and white rose with a green stem.

Flag sewn based on the design in the previous image.

A colorful drawing of a figure on green mountains.

An illustration of flags that spells out 'how i keep looking up' with smaller calligraphy.

a spread of the zine featuring 3 flag designs. each one is represented by a drawing and a photo of a sewn flag. each is accompanied by narrative text.

How I Keep Looking Up is a socially-engaged project that invited the public to commemorate the sources of their resilience by designing flags.

Fifty flag designs were submitted, of which 40 were by local middle school students. I selected 10 designs to sew, based on design, narrative, mental health insights, sewability, and diversity of perspectives and backgrounds. Another flag was sewed by Hannah Jakus.

These flags represent beloved family members, friends, and pets; coping strategies; and learned skills to reduce anxiety and stress. Strengths like these help individuals and communities endure adversities from the interpersonal level of relationships to the social level of the uncertainty and isolation of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

I also designed a 16-page, full color zine featuring the 11 flags seen here, plus 16 more flag designs. Each of the 27 flag designs are accompanied by statements by the flag designers about the meanings of the flags and the sources of their resilience. The zine is downloadable (PDF, 1.7 MB) and available via my shop.

Developed in collaboration with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, in conjunction with Between You and Me, an exhibition curated by Shannon R. Stratton. The exhibition was supported by the Kohler Trust for Arts and Education, the Frederic Cornell Kohler Charitable Trust, Kohler Foundation, Inc., Herzfeld Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Public programming related to Between You and Me was supported in part by the Wisconsin Arts Board, Arts Midwest, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Thanks to Shannon R. Stratton, Kat Buckley, Hannah Jakus, Valerie Lazalier, Peter Rosen, Lauren Marx, Jonas Sebura, JMKAC staff, Maddi Spletter, Étude Middle School, and everyone who contributed flag designs or attended workshops.

Caption: Christine Wong Yap and contributors, How I Keep Looking Up, 2020–2021, social practice, drawing, flags; drawings roughly 8.5x11 inches each / flags roughly 3x5 feet each.