Born and raised in New York City and the Bronx, artist Skylar Fein eventually found his way south to New Orleans, where he currently lives and works. Fein moved to New Orleans one week before Hurricane Katrina to become a pre-med student. However, his calling would soon change. He began collecting debris from the hurricane to create art objects with pop sensibilities and political undertones. In High Water at the Carrollton Gauge (White Flag), Fein creates an image if the American flag with elements from a diner image of the American flag with elements from a diner menu and an abstracted outline of the Mississippi River. The food items listed are a testament to Southern cuisine, including sausage on a stick, corn, okra, gulf oysters, and creole tomatoes. In marrying these images in a comparison, Fein critiques mass consumerism’s place in the South’s lifeblood, just as the Mississippi River can bring both life and destruction.