Pax Americana (2025)
Pax Americana is a speculative public art series that reimagines Toronto as a site of future conflict and occupation. Through a collection of aluminum signs posted around the city, a fictional narrative emerges in which the United States annexes Canada—echoing President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to absorb Canada as the 51st state after taking office in 2025. Pax Americana is meant to serve as a dark warning, inviting contemplation on the fragility of nationhood.
Read more about the series: Canadian Geographic, The Toronto Star, the CBC, The Conversation, Toronto Today and Reddit.
Surrender of the Tecumseth Irregulars, 2025, 18 x 24", aluminum sign.
"Near this site, approximately one hundred local Canadian irregulars surrendered to United States Patriot liberation forces on the eleventh of August, 2031. After weeks of urban warfare, most of the surrounding neighbourhood was destroyed. Many of the buildings you see here now were reconstructed as part of the Musk Plan, and resettled under the New 1812 Act."
Let Go of Your Past, and Welcome Our United Future, 2025, 18 x 24", aluminum sign.
"On this spot on September 2, 2031, from atop an MI Abrams tank United States President Ivanka Trump gave her Let Go of Your Past, and Welcome Our United Future speech
The surrender one week later of the last PTS (Place to Stand) Forces signalled the end of the most active phase of the Ontario resistance."
Tennis Court War Rooms, 2025, 18 x 24", aluminum sign.
"During Operation McKinley, the push to liberate the northern territory formerly known as Canada, local insurgents used tennis courts like this one as gathering places. Queues to play during peak summer hours allowed their illegal activities to go unnoticed. Hiding in plain sight, Canadians could meet to spread misinformation and plan counterattacks. Chain-link fences bordering the tennis courts also allowed insurgents to sight Patriot patrols from a distance, and disperse quickly."
The Capture of Banting and Best, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"At this location on February 7, 2037, insurgents Fred Loft (a.k.a. "Banting") and Isobel Gunn (a.k.a. "Best") were apprehended. The pair had evaded Patriot forces for years after the annexation of Canada by embedding themselves with local families. Banting and Best were among the insurgency's most dangerous organizers, responsible for dozens of attacks. They were captured by Navy SEALs during a series of targeted raids known as Operation Northern Dawn. After admitting their guilt, the pair was sent to Qaanaaq, the penal colony on Red, White, and Blueland."
The Hot Dog Stand, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"This spot served as the center of operations for United States Army snipers during Operation McKinley, the campaign to liberate the northern territory formerly known as Canada. From February to May 2035, this site, code-named "The Hot Dog Stand," served as a concealed sniper's nest, providing precision fire support, disrupting insurgent movements, and protecting advancing American units. These marksmen, unseen and uncelebrated, were the quiet vanguard of Patriot resolve. Let this plaque stand as a tribute to the enduring spirit of our American defenders, watching over freedom from above."
The Last Patriot Death, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"This plaque commemorates Private First Class Mason Carpenter of the 893rd Tank Battalion, attached to the 9th Infantry Division, XI Corps of the 3rd US Army. PFC Carpenter was killed in an ambush at this spot on August 27, 2035. He is remembered as the final Patriot soldier to fall during Operation McKinley, the campaign to liberate the northern territory formerly known as Canada.
Carpenter was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his bravery. We remember his sacrifice and the sacrifices of all those who lost their lives in service to this great cause."
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Checkpoint Liberty, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"Established to regulate the movement of goods and individuals between Liberty Village and Patriot Palisades, Checkpoint Liberty operated under the authority of the United States Army. After the collapse of local governance, the population, divided and disorganized, fell to infighting. U.S. forces pacified the area block by block and established this site as a secure crossing point.
Following the formal integration of former Canadian territories into the United States on August 27, 2035, the checkpoint contributed to the stabilization of regional infrastructure and civil society. Today, it stands as a marker of freedom and post-unification development."
Monument to a Monument, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"After the unification of North America, artist Robert James Ritchie was tasked with implementing President Ivanka Trump's plan for new monuments. The desire for new art to reflect the new age was strong, both among leadership and the Americans who resettled this territory. Ritchie proposed an abstract structure made from American steel and aluminum, designed to reach a height of 148 feet (1,776 inches.)
Shortly before the monument's completion, local terrorists bombed the structure. Seventeen Americans were killed, and nearly 100 were wounded. To honor the dead, President Trump decreed that the site remain barren – a monument to a monument. While laying a wreath at the site, she noted that "Grief is the price we pay for love.""
Temple Avenue Dove Office, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"Under the Musk Plan, New Americans were given the opportunity to convert their currency to U.S. dollars at the favorable rate of 1:1. The Department of Valuation Efforts (DOVE) was established to oversee this transition, which – after years of economic decline and soaring prices – was seen as a lifeline by the local populace.
DOVE offices opened in every neighborhood. Lines stretched for blocks as former Canadians lined up to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in exchange for their citizenship bonus. The process, officially known as Dollarization, led to DOVE offices being colloquially referred to as "Dollaramas."
This plaque marks the former site of the largest DOVE office in Toronto, located on Temple Avenue."
51st Productions - Stage One, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"Established in early 2037, 51st Productions was the first film studio to be officially endorsed by the American government. With a mandate to tell the stories of a unified North America, the company began operations in this building, known as Stage One. The site remained active until 2045, when the studio relocated to California.
Many popular shows and films were produced here, including Jordan B. Peterson’s award-winning children’s program You’re Not Everything You Could Be, and You Know It; Mel Gibson’s Anne of Green Gables: Resurrection; Ryan Reynolds’ rock musical Project Homecoming; and Mike Myers’ Oscar-nominated Elbows Up, Fam."
Redefining Canadian Identity, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"For decades, the former nation of Canada appropriated large swaths of American identity without acknowledgment or reciprocity. After becoming the 51st state, Canada was finally able to harmonize this one-sided exchange and participate authentically in the culture of these United States.
To celebrate this milestone, the Art Gallery of Ontario invited artists to submit work that reflected this now wholly shared patrimony. The result was the seminal "Make Art Great Again Exhibition" (MAGA-X), held at this site from September 15 – November 18, 2037. Many of these works remain on view today as part of the AGO's permanent collection, reminding us of the moment when the question "What does it mean to be Canadian?" was finally answered."
Victory Parade, 2025, 12 x 16", aluminum sign.
"After the razing of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the capital of Canada was relocated to Toronto. To commemorate the occasion, a Victory Parade was organized to celebrate Canada's successful integration into the American Union. Held on November 11, 2036, the procession began at the Governor's Mansion (formerly known as Casa Loma) before proceeding down the newly expanded Spadina Expressway. It turned west along Lake Shore Boulevard, concluding at the Presidents' Gates at the Little Caesars Exhibition Place.
The event culminated in the unveiling of the "Winged Victory" statue, updated by Stan Watts. Preserving many design elements from Charles McKechnie's original, the new central female figure was modeled after First Daughter Arabella Rose Kushner, and the statue reoriented to face Washington, D.C."