Object Details
- Photograph by
- Lola Flash, American, born 1959
- Subject of
- Lola Flash, American, born 1959
- Caption
- Throughout the self-portrait series syzygy, the vision, photographer Lola Flash (they/them) dons a space helmet, an orange prison uniform, and handcuffs. “Heavy on my mind is America’s mass incarceration and the question of breaking free,” Flash writes of the series, which also reflects their personal experiences with the police. Flash was arrested in 2008 “for walking while Black.” Their teaching license was suspended, leaving them unemployed for six months. Although syzygy, the vision began as a response to Afrofuturism, it expanded with the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd’s killing to include themes of mass incarceration and Black Lives Matter. Like much of Flash’s work, the images confront issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ageism.
- Description
- An inkjet self-portrait depicting the photographer, Lola Flash, as a lone figure against a landscape of water and distant mountains. They wear a bright orange prison uniform and futuristic white helmet with blue visor. Bright orange handcuffs are loced around their right wrist with the other cuff dangling free. Shown from the hips up, they stand at a three quarter turn away from the viewer, their arms crossed in front their chest, gazing into the distance. There are no prints or inscriptions, front or back.
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, purchased through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative
- 2019
- Object number
- 2021.57.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Lola Flash
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Type
- portraits
- inkjet prints
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (sheet): 50 × 40 1/16 in. (127 × 101.7 cm)
- H x W (image): 48 3/8 × 37 15/16 in. (122.8 × 96.3 cm)
- Place depicted
- Woodstock, Ulster County, New York, United States, North and Central America
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Portfolio/Series
- syzygy, the vision
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Movement
- Afrofuturism
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Topic
- African American
- Art
- Black geographies
- Freedom
- Identity
- LGBTQ
- Photography
- Prisons
- Race discrimination
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2021.57.3
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5fb09460d-33eb-4516-bc25-ecec7f7f2ede
