Lois Harada’s suite of Signal prints is a wonderful mix of sparse design and bold color. Printed in 2021, each print depicts a signal flag traditionally used for nautical signaling. The meaning of the flag is below and while each is direct, there is much room for interpretation. “K” stands for “I wish to communicate with you,” appropriate for signaling at sea or for our modern times. Lois explains, “"Signals" was inspired by a search for nonverbal communication. I felt like I couldn't hear people through their masks and was also worried about being misheard so I wanted to find a system that had one meaning (even though it's impossible not to add your own interpretation to the meanings!). I was also thinking about 'fake news' and how information is distorted particularly after the 2020 election." This work is in the collection of the RISD Museum, Providence, RI.
Harada received her BFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2010. She currently lives and works in Rhode Island and plans to spend next spring at Anderson Ranch, an artist residency in Colorado where she will focus on a body of work started in 2017, exploring her family’s history of Japanese American incarceration.
