Register for special events on Sept. 30
A new exhibition in the Woodruff Library on Emory University’s Atlanta campus invites visitors to just “breathe.”
Opening Sept. 11 in the Schatten Gallery, “breathe.” is an exhibition of landscape images by Atlanta-based photographer Sheila Pree Bright, best known for her photographs exploring African American culture and activism. Andi McKenzie, the Michael C. Carlos Museum curator of Works on Paper, is the exhibition curator.
The exhibition is open to the public at no charge. Related events include an Atlanta Art Week conversation with Bright and McKenzie at 6:30 p.m. in the library’s Jones Room on Sept. 30, followed by an opening ceremony by Emory’s Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) in the Schatten Gallery. Guided meditations in the exhibition led by OSRL and art-making sessions with Carlos Museum programming staff are planned throughout the exhibition’s run; specific details of these events are forthcoming.
Guests are asked to register online to attend the Sept 30 events.
“Behold The Land Untitled 2” photo by Sheila Pree Bright
‘breathe.’ details
The tightly focused images are taken from selections from two of Bright’s series, “Belonging” and “Behold the Land.” The landscapes originated as photographs of places of trauma during the civil rights movement and the slavery era. This exhibition takes a portion of each image, zooming in to change the focus from trauma to feelings of meditative calm.
Self portrait, by Sheila Pree Bright
Bright took the original landscapes during the pandemic, when the isolation drove her closer to nature, she says. She also spent a few years photographing the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Washington, DC. Her work has been featured in many exhibitions and in the Global Oneness Project photo essay “We Will Breathe.”
Bright says her increasing concerns about climate change, the isolation of the pandemic, and the emotional toll of photographing the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and places of Black trauma created personal stress she wasn’t aware of at the time.
“I didn’t realize how much I needed a break from being on the ground, so I turned my lens toward the land. After all, that’s what everyone is fighting about. I wanted to tell the story differently, through the landscapes,” Bright says.
When the idea developed to turn the exhibition into a meditative space, Bright was excited about the prospect.
“I was thinking about all the noise that we’re going through in the world, nationally and globally,” she says. “I thought it would be interesting to create a sanctuary for people to come and meditate.”
The landscape photographs in this exhibition have been cropped in on a detail, then enlarged, to change the focus from one of trauma to that of nature to create a space of calm reflection. Seating will be placed in front of the photographs to encourage reflection. A video of waves in motion will run in the exhibition to add to the calming effect.
Polaroid photos of nature, taken by Bright, have been reimagined in an altered state using AI and a bluish cast. These transformed landscapes, originally borne of trauma, are now depicted as places of restoration and peace, imagining a place for the future.
”breathe.” marks the first time Emory Libraries is creating an experiential space, as well as the first time working with the Carlos Museum to curate a Schatten Gallery exhibition. The library hopes Bright’s exhibition of landscape photographs will provide a space for students, faculty, and staff to “breathe” and de-stress during the fall semester.
“There are many firsts about this exhibition, one of the most important being the activation of art, introspection, and wellness in a traditional academic space,” says Valeda F. Dent, vice provost of Emory Libraries and the Michael C. Carlos Museum. “Ms. Bright’s work reminds us how the land can hold past trauma but also how it can cradle and spread peace and stillness. We are honored that Ms. Bright chose Emory Libraries and Museum as an exhibition space.”
“breathe.” curator Andi McKenzie
Both Bright and McKenzie say the “breathe.” exhibition space can provide a welcome respite, particularly with the stress of the upcoming presidential election season, heightened global tensions, and individual stressors in our personal lives.
“I hope that viewers will come away feeling grounded and calm” says McKenzie, the curator. “For me, when I look at Sheila’s work, there’s also a level of hope and anticipation, but everybody’s going to experience it differently. I hope that, however a viewer experiences the space, that it will be a fulfilling journey for them.”
Bright received her MFA degree from Georgia State University and was the focus of a solo exhibition in 2023, “The Rebirth of Us,” at Atlanta’s Jackson Fine Art Gallery. Her work has also been included in multiple exhibitions across the country and in Georgia at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, and the High Museum of Art.
“Breathe” will run through Dec. 21, 2024, in the Schatten Gallery on Level 3 of the Woodruff Library building, 540 Asbury Cir., Atlanta, Georgia 30322. Updates will be posted on the Libraries exhibitions webpage.