Photograph by
Flash, Lola, American, born 1959
Subject of
Flash, Lola, American, born 1959
Date
2020
Medium
ink on paper
Dimensions
H x W (sheet): 36 × 24 in. (91.4 × 61 cm)
H x W (image): 33 3/4 × 22 9/16 in. (85.7 × 57.3 cm)
Caption
Throughout the self-portrait series syzygy, the vision, photographer Lola Flash 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 several years of personal interactions with the police. Flash was arrested in 2008 “for walking while Black.” Flash’s teaching license was suspended, leading to unemployment. 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 documentary photographs of Black Lives Matter protests.
Description
An inkjet print self-portrait depicting the photographer, Lola Flash, standing in the middle of an up-ended rowboat, it's interior painted a bright blue. The rowboat stands on its end on a cement pavement against a red brick and black wood wall. Flash, wearing a bright orange prison uniform and a futuristic white helmet with a translucent blue visor, stands with hands held in prayer position. At each wrist is a heavily beaded orange and white band of cowrie shells. There are no marks or inscriptions, front or back.
Place depicted
Brighton, England, Europe
Portfolio/Series
syzygy, the vision
Classification
Photographs and Still Images
Movement
Afrofuturism
Type
portraits
inkjet prints
Topic
Art
Black geographies
Freedom
Identity
LGBTQ
Photography
Prayer
Prisons
Race discrimination
Spirituality
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
Object number
2021.57.6
Restrictions & Rights
© Lola Flash
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd58f6dea7d-1d3f-4873-a261-0eda0e2e4803

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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