Tyler Mitchell Builds His Own Utopia at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art

In 2018, photographer Tyler Mitchell was just 23 years old when he made history as the first black man to photograph a Vogue cover – with Beyoncé as the star, no less. His work has since been featured in art and photography exhibitions around the world: Gagosian in London, International Center of Photography in New York and Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, to name a few. His first solo exhibition in Germany, “I Wish This Was Real”“, is currently on display at C/O Berlin and runs until September. He has also produced editorials for almost all the most important fashion and art magazines (including L). But according to the Atlanta native, now 29, an exhibition at his hometown’s High Museum of Art has always been a “goal of mine, ever since I started taking art and photography seriously,” Mitchell said via email. Now, that dream has become a reality, with the exhibition Idyllic space. On view at the museum until December 1st, “Idyllic” “Our attempt to provide a cohesive vision to the Atlanta community,” Mitchell said. “We tried to show how my overall artistic project, whether fashion, conceptual or personal work, is rooted in the ethics and aesthetics of the American (and global) South, which raised me . » The photographer came up with the idea for the exhibition almost three years ago, when he was introduced to the museum’s curator of modern and contemporary art, Michael Rooks. After years of conversations, proposals and ideas, “Idyllic” Mitchell worked closely with Rooks and curator Maria L. Kelly to choose works that most effectively evoke the South. “In essence, it is an exhibition about the place and the community in which it is organized,” he added.

Mitchell’s works often examine how Black lives interact with nature and the spaces around them. For “Idyllic Space” it meant “visualizing what a black utopia looks like or could look like,” Mitchell explained. “I use the word “utopia” as a provocation and a question addressed to the public. An “unattainable perfect” is inherent in the definition of utopia. I am more interested in depicting temporary moments of happiness, transcendence and rest. I invite viewers to visualize their own versions of utopia. It becomes a concept shaped in everyone’s mind. Here, an overview of the exhibition.