The role of the US as a relentless force within the global psyche figures prominently in Vo’s oeuvre. In recent years he has explored it by going back to the beginning, using the flag of the original 13 colonies. In In God We Trust, Vo uses the pattern of the US flag from 1777 to create a monumental sculpture. Logs of firewood compose the stripes, and the 13 stars are made of steel. 

When the first iteration of the work was shown in 2020 at White Cube, London, the wood from the flag was dismantled during the course of the exhibition in order to fuel the six fireplaces in the gallery. As a result, the flag slowly disappeared, leaving only its steel stars and wooden debris on the floor. 

At the time, in the lead up to the 2020 Presidential election, the work was an allegory for the fragile state of the U.S. democratic project. Today it’s hard not to read it in a similar vein. With reference to Vo’s long-standing interest in the reigns of Empires, this work suggests that the world is always evolving towards something new.