Collected Item: “Raising the F(l)ag”
Your Name
SMILES MEYER
Your Pronouns
They/Them
Instagram handle, if any
@strangeexposures
Work Title
Raising the F(l)ag
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2025
[Image Rights] Do you confirm that you hold the rights to this image?
Yes
[Eligibility] The Curve Photo Contest proudly centers and uplifts people who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and nonbinary people. Please share how you self-identify, using language that feels most accurate to you. Feel free to include all intersections of your identity. (Examples: lesbian, trans person of color, Latinx queer woman, radical faery, butch, etc.)
Queer, Trans Masc Creative Freak
[Artist Statement] Tell us more about your photo by sharing a brief artist statement OR answering this prompt: "This is what being ______ means to me..." (Max. 100 words)
Smiles Meyer (They/Them) is a trans film photographer located in Los Angeles, CA. Their work emerges from the dissonance of their Trans identity in relation to their conservative, Catholic upbringing. Radical trans self expression, visual activism, and communal unification rests at the backbone of Meyer’s creative prerogative and they often indulge in provocation as their preferred medium. Through their provocative, queer, unapologetic, and deeply personal compositions, Meyer locates photography as a conduit for connection.
[Visual Description] Describe your photo so we can provide alt-text. Example: "Two women holding hands and smiling as they walk in a pride parade, surrounded by rainbow flags."
Raising the F(l)ag (2025), a provocative reimagining of the historical image of Raising the Flag On Iwo Jima (1945) which presents queer and trans models raising an American flag engulfed in flames. The image acts as an act of resilience and rebellion against the onslaught of anti- trans legislation and rhetoric enacted by the Trump 2025 administration.
Photos captured on Medium Format Film at the Los Angeles River.
Photos captured on Medium Format Film at the Los Angeles River.
[Agreement] In the event that you win the 2026 Curve Photo Contest, do you consent to having your photograph printed for the sole purpose of displaying at The Curve Foundation's one-day event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA) during Lesbian Visibility Week? The Curve Foundation will cover printing costs, but will not cover costs for mailing the print after the event ends.
Yes
[Agreement] Do you consent to The Curve Foundation storing, sharing, and using this image and its description as we deem appropriate, including disseminating on our social media, website, and Curve Archive and Curve Quarterly?
Yes
[Agreement] By checking 'I understand' below, I acknowledge that this contest upholds values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I confirm that my submission does not contain anti-LGBTQ+ or other discriminatory, hateful, or exclusionary content.
I understand