I link political iconography to a force of nature in this image of a flag bearing a drawing of Tunisian president Ben Ali, illuminated with the light of a rising full moon. In doing so, I contrast the authority of nature to the authority of man. The flag is but thin cloth, the drawing merely an ink sketch. Nature, by light of its moon, sees right through it.

(Viewing this image in hindsight, two years after I made it, I now see this transparent banner as a portent of things to come. The president of Tunisia seems to appear as insubstantial, something close to vanishing. And that is exactly what came to be in January, 2011, when Ben Ali was swept out office and into exile by a popular but bloody revolt.)