A new photography exhibition at Emory University’s Woodruff Library invites you to pause, reflect and find serenity. Atlanta photographer Sheila Pree Bright has spent years documenting human activities, particularly related to activism and Black cultural heritage, but her new show, “breathe” turns to nature, creating a multisensory space for mindfulness in a series of transportive landscapes.
The exhibition is on view in the Woodruff Library’s Schatten Galleries through Dec. 21, and Pree Bright recently joined Lois Reitzes on “City Lights” to share more about the “breathe” experience.
Pree Bright was documenting the Black Lives Matter movement when she, like many others, found herself grappling with intense isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden closure of the entire world that she knew sparked a shift in her perspective.
“I shifted my focus and my practice to explore landscapes through the lens of my camera,” she says, “It put me in isolation and drew me closer to nature … immersing myself in the landscape became more of a spiritual journey to me, allow[ing] me to find a greater sense of peace.”
Pree Bright’s new exhibition, “breathe” is an outgrowth of this inward journey, inviting visitors to take a moment of respite in a world that constantly assails us with noise and distraction.
