A Subjective View of Captivity (Aaron and Faisel)

A Subjective View of Captivity (Aaron and Faisel), by C. Davida Ingram, Real Change article

A Subjective View of Captivity (Aaron and Faisel), by C. Davida Ingram, Real Change article

Name/Title

A Subjective View of Captivity (Aaron and Faisel)

Entry/Object ID

2023.1.40

Description

Photographic giclee print, portrait of two men, standing on the shore of Lake Washington. Faisal wears a long raccoon pelt and tan cowboy hat, with an owl on his arm. Aaron dons an eggplant suit with a feathered collar. He also holds a bouquet of flowers.

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

C. Davida Ingram

Role

Photographer

Date made

2015

Dimensions

Height

30 in

Width

20 in

Copyright

Copyright Holder

C. Davida Ingram

Interpretative Labels

Label

Ingram makes subversive social inquiries often reflecting ideas around race, gender, and social relationships. She created this striking portrait of Seattle abolitionists with captive birds of prey for a series entitled, A Book with No Pages. This work contrasts incarceration, domestication, cross-solidarities, natural and societal bonds.

Label

In “Faisal and Aaron,” Ingram is challenging conventional notions of masculinity. The portrait shows two men standing on the shore of Lake Washington. Faisal wears a long raccoon pelt and tan cowboy hat, with an owl on his arm. Aaron dons an eggplant suit with a feathered collar. He also holds a bouquet of flowers. “A lot of that imagery looks a little bit otherworldly mostly because of American racism, I would wager. Because we’re just not used to seeing Black bodies in the Pacific Northwest landscape and centered,”