In these photographs taken in the American South, Tyler Mitchell explores the relationship between Black communities and nature. Through his lens, the South emerges as a complex landscape—both a sanctuary and a site of historical trauma. His images portray nature as a place of rest, renewal, and spiritual connection, even as the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow oppression lingers in collective memory. In this context, rest is not easily found; it is hard-won and deeply cherished, made all the more precious by the weight of the past.
Courtesy the artist and Gagosian BMA
Riverside Scene
Tyler Mitchell
Date:
2021
Medium:
Archival pigment print
In these photographs taken in the American South, Tyler Mitchell explores the relationship between Black communities and nature. Through his lens, the South emerges as a complex landscape—both a sanctuary and a site of historical trauma. His images portray nature as a place of rest, renewal, and spiritual connection, even as the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow oppression lingers in collective memory. In this context, rest is not easily found; it is hard-won and deeply cherished, made all the more precious by the weight of the past.
