In State of the Union, Ramos stages two direct camera performances magnifying the visual and symbolic dynamics of political address. Back-to-back scenes juxtapose two iterations of racialized masculinity: the U.S. politician and the spiritual tribal leader.

The artist initially appears in a suit and tie, seated at a wooden desk next in the likeness of a politician’s office. A fan is propped on the desk, its power cord lying unplugged on the floor. Beside Ramos is a free-standing American flag. Ramos begins to draw bricks from a pile on the ground next to him, meticulously building a wall on the table. Next, Ramos constructs a house of cards atop the brick. The footage then cuts to a shirtless Ramos positioned as a talking head, sitting on a wooden chair in front of a plain background. He describes a meditative practice of cultivating oneness with the universe. This address transitions into the artist painting his skin white and donning a straight-haired wig—a recurring tactic across Ramos’ performance works. He emulates tribal markings on his skin by wiping away patterns in the paint. With his signature playful, off-the-cuff performance and editing sensibilities, Ramos calls into question the media archetypes he invokes—inviting discomfort in the viewer by exaggerating the constituent parts of a dominant political paradigm.