Patrick Nagatani, Trinitite, Ground Zero, Trinity Site, New Mexico, 1988

Patrick Nagatani 
1945 Chicago, Illinois−2017 Albuquerque, New Mexico
Trinitite, Ground Zero, Trinity Site, New Mexico
1988
Cibachrome print 
27 ½ x 31 in. (mat)
Albuquerque Museum, museum purchase, 1989 General Obligation Bonds, PC1991.30.1
photo by David Nufer

The Trinity explosion sucked radioactive dust and trinitite into the resulting fireball, as it rose 38,000 feet into the air. These radioactive particles rained down on the surrounding countryside.

Using a photographic set he constructed, Patrick Nagatani parodies the event in this image. The artist posed himself wearing a protective suit while holding an umbrella in front of the obelisk marking the Trinity site. Of course all of these precautions would have been futile against the trinitite and radioactive dust raining down from the Trinity test.