Carmen Winant (American, b. 1983) Womyn’s Land, 2016 Felt Collection of Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell
Columbus-based artist Carmen Winant’s flag differs from her
typical photographic work. However, it still epitomizes Winant’s
distinctly feminist oeuvre. The text refers to Winant’s personal
narrative “Togethering” in her 2019 book project, Fundamental
Joy. There, she details her encounter with photographs from
Womyn’s Land, the lesbian separatist community. On one side
of the flag, “Only Women on the Land,” highlights the
community’s desire to live in a world unscathed by the
oppressive rule of the patriarchy. On the other, “Death to Male
Chauvinism,” is a declaration of the necessity for destruction,
not just separation. Much like Winant herself, these womyn
desire to exist in a “pictorial state of threatlessness.”