About the Flag:
This flag features a digital recreation of the mosaic floor from Ralph’s, the oldest Italian restaurant in the United States, and a cornerstone of South Philadelphia’s immigrant history since 1900. Having witnessed over a century of community life, the floral hexagonal pattern serves as a silent custodian of untold stories and a witness to Italian-American resilience. Elevated onto a pennant, "Ralph’s Mosaic" invites viewers to consider how traces of local history and immigrant labor can be found in the simplest everyday patterns, even under our feet.
About the Artist:
Jusuf Brkić (born 2001) is a Bosnian-German painter, illustrator, sculptor, and installation artist. After completing his training at the FOS for Design in Munich and a one-year internship at Gabriele Space (Munich), he began his studies at the Braunschweig University of Art in 2023, studying under David Zink Yi and Abbas Akhavan, among others. Brkić explores the role of painting between window and object, the function and origin of graphic patterns used in everyday life, the aesthetic potential of frozen movement, and the conditions under which situations or objects can be interpreted as art.
