Girls, Grillz and Dolls @ Power House Memphis

Girls, Grillz, and Dolls 06.26.09—08.10.09
Power House Memphis welcomes Atlanta based photographer Sheila Pree Bright as our next Fuel Room artist. Join us starting at 6:30pm on June 25th for our Fuel for the Fire lecture by Bright, during which she will discuss her processes and impetus for the work. The official opening for Girls, Grillz, and Dolls will be on June 26th from 6 to 9pm. In the spirit of Power House’s goal to present art experiments and experiences, Bright reopened two previous bodies of work, Plastic Bodies and Gold Rush. Bright came to Memphis for a week in May to photograph different individuals within our community, some of whom will be featured in her Memphis debut.

Artist Bio
Sheila Pree Bright is an Atlanta based photographer whose large-scale works combine a wide-ranging knowledge of contemporary culture, while challenging perceptions of identity. Bright has recently emerged as a new voice in contemporary photography with her edgy portrayals of urban and suburban themes, as well as her provocative commentary about American beauty standards. She received national attention after winning the Santa Fe Prize from the Santa Fe Center for photography in 2006 for a series of work entitled The Suburbia Series. The series takes aim at the American media's projection of the "stereotypical" African American community to depict a more realistic and common subsection of African American life. Recently, Bright embarked on one of her most ambitious projects to date called Young Americans, which was underwritten by a grant from the Aetna Foundation. The exhibition premiered as a solo exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta in May 2008 and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in September 2008.