Despite today’s euphoria, when Barack Obama takes office in January 2009, he will inherit a decidedly grim reality. He will preside over a culture of overweight, overwrought and overextended Americans who may not have the capacity to sustain the sense of hope on which we are now so happily drunk.

He will have to stride unflinchingly into the economic aftermath brought about by an overgrown model and preach measure and moderation to a country that has long worshipped at the altar of consumption. He will be singularly charged with purifying our toxic collective consciousness, with eradicating the seeds of cynicism, apathy and malaise. Once inaugurated, Obama is Atlas – the weight of the world and its future resting on the shoulders of one man. Now is the time for us to truly rise. To come together as a single entity of disparate parts working to recreate American culture and resurrect the American dream. Our hopes, our dreams and our strength cannot concentrate in the body of one man. It is our job, as cultural creatives, jammers and meme warriors, to truly seize this opportunity for change. This is our window. The world is listening.

We are hopeful, we are strong, we are alive. The future is up for grabs – it’s time to make our move. What will we do to carry this momentum forward?

Photos taken by Will Kerr.

Ron English

People pasted smaller versions, given to them by the gallery, on walls all over the city.