SHEILA PREE BRIGHT IS ENGAGED
IN A QUEST TO CHANGE
the way Black bodies are seen, represented, and conceptualized. For her, social- and racial-justice struggles are points of departure to investigate, educate, and explore. Bright’s work demonstrates the participant eye of an activist who is unwilling to sit on the sidelines as history is made. Her exhibition Heroes, Victories, and Triumphs shows the ongoing fight against injustice and, in particular, the photographer’s celebration of the beauty of individuals and the hopes and dreams of the people.
The ongoing series #1960Now shows an intimate view of demonstrations and marches in which deep and empathetic humanism resists simple categorization. The large-scale portraits come directly out of the tradition of the great portraitists, from Richard Avedon to Dorothea Lange, who capture people who might otherwise be no more than a passing news image. Equal parts documentary and homage, Bright’s work matches the formal qualities with the sense of respect for the changing tide of history and those who play central roles in it.
Bright’s work challenges what we see and how we see it. Within the current context of momentous changes that surround us, her work refreshes our sense of the possible and expands our notions of what is beautiful.
Curator of the Gallatin Galleries at New York University
2015, Protest, “All Night, All Day, We’re Gonna Fight for Freddie Gray,” Baltimore, MD