B.A.S.E.C. Robert Henry Lawrence Mission Patch

B.A.S.E.C. Robert Henry Lawrence is the second of two space mission patches designed by Tavares Strachan for Task Eternal, Powerhouse's inaugural exhibition tracing humanity’s enduring quest to defy gravity, take flight and journey into space.  Strachan is a Bahamas-born, New York-based artist known for The Encyclopedia of Invisibility, a sculptural work documenting thousands of entries on historically marginalised people, places and events. His work is included in Task Eternal, extending his longstanding interest in space, discovery and the question of who is represented within histories of exploration. B.A.S.E.C. Robert Henry Lawrence draws on Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., selected in June 1967 as the first African American astronaut chosen by any national space program and killed in a training accident six months later, before he reached space. His presence in Strachan's work speaks to reaching beyond imposed limits and envisioning futures that were historically denied.