Image: Final Lap
The New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA), is proud to be the first venue to present Mile O’ Mud in conjunction with the release of the Malcolm Lightner’s first monograph, Mile O’ Mud: The Culture of Swamp Buggy Racing published by powerHouse Books and available for pre-sale now. The exhibition runs from March 5th to May 29th with an opening on March 5th from 6:30 to 9:00pm at the NOPA gallery in the lower garden district.
Churning the buttery muddy water at the Florida Sports Park, swamp buggy races keep Florida’s frontier heritage alive. With Mile O’ Mud, fourth generation, native Floridian Malcolm Lightner, shows us his home’s beauty; scarred and raw, surrounded by lush blue sky and restorative greens and we witness a community unapologetically celebrating their colorful and unique history, full of wild abandon and enjoying every minute of it.
Malcolm Lightner grew up down the street from the original “Mile O’ Mud” swamp buggy track off of Radio Road in Naples Florida. Where his Great-uncle, R.L. helped to formalize the race into a legitimate sporting event. A bastard child to NASCAR, the custom buggies (part boat, part dragster) tear through terrain more like the lake in the center of Daytona International Speedway than the track surrounding it.