Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Photograph by:
Lola Flash, American, born 1959  Search this
Subject of:
Lola Flash, American, born 1959  Search this
Medium:
ink on paper
Dimensions:
H x W (sheet): 24 × 36 in. (61 × 91.4 cm)
H x W (image): 22 1/2 × 30 1/16 in. (57.2 × 76.3 cm)
Type:
portraits
inkjet prints
Place depicted:
Villas, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
Date:
2021
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 print self-portait depicting the photographer, Lola Flash, as the lone figure at a walk-up ice cream shop. A large black and white sign above the stand reads [MILKY WAY]. Flash wears a bright orange prison uniform over a long-sleeved white t-shirt, white sneakers, and a futuristic white helmet with blue visor. They stand sideways to the camera, walking away from the shop, holding a soft-serve twist cone with both hands in front of them. Their wrists are bound with bright orange handcuffs. There is a “NO PARKING” stenciled on the pavement in front of the kiosk ordering windows, and four yellows stanchions in a row in front of the ordering windows. There are no marks or inscriptions, front or back.
Topic:
African American  Search this
Black geographies  Search this
Freedom  Search this
Identity  Search this
LGBTQ  Search this
Photography  Search this
Prisons  Search this
Race discrimination  Search this
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:
2021.57.7
Restrictions & Rights:
© Lola Flash
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Portfolio/Series:
syzygy, the vision series
Classification:
Media Arts-Photography
Movement:
Afrofuturism
Exhibition:
Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
On View:
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd528c92d16-aa1a-4c6d-9fd0-3171864019a8
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2021.57.7