Description
“VIRGINIA: Is for Warriors” (acrylic paint, oil/wax crayon, and pencil on heavy watercolor paper) transforms the familiar tourism slogan “Virginia is for Lovers” into a reflection on the state’s vast military presence and economic dependence on defense. Inspired by a trip to Norfolk, the work maps a landscape shaped by Naval Station Norfolk—the world’s largest naval installation—the Pentagon, CIA headquarters, Arlington National Cemetery, Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and numerous other military sites. Military and defense activity is woven deeply into Virginia’s identity and economy, contributing an estimated $76.2 billion in federal defense spending in fiscal year 2024. By recasting the state as “for Warriors,” the piece asks viewers to consider how military power, public memory, employment, and everyday civic life converge in the Commonwealth.
