Exhibition Review: Tyler Mitchell Dreaming in Real Time
Riverside Scene, 2021 © Tyler Mitchell. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
By Nicholas Rutolo
The pandemic has pulled us apart from the people and lives we were once accustomed to; seeing our family and friends has changed drastically from an in person visit to only digitally. This has had a profound impact on our lifestyles and mental health. We were involuntarily forced to distance ourselves and there’s a parallel to be made between this and redlining. Redlining is the process of outlining and dividing neighborhoods to segregate one community from another. This is a discriminatory practice meant to prevent sections of black and minority communities from being able to have access to the same services as “rich” neighborhoods. Mitchell explores Atlanta in Dreaming in Real Time, defining the city with peace, solitude and belonging with themes of communal celebration and redlining’s division.
Georgia Hillside (Redlining), 2021 © Tyler Mitchell. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
The name is inspired by the isolation brought on by the pandemic, which led Mitchell to dream of his home. Young black kids playing in a river, or kids being swung around by their parents, the project speaks to community and connection. In one scene, everyone is sitting or playing by a river, the natural light shining perfectly and the way everyone is dressed is reminiscent of an affluent Victorian painting. Kids flying kites and boys wading in the water, even through politically tumultuous themes, Mitchell embodies serenity. Whether Mitchell realizes it or not, he’s presenting black communities, at their most basic, are as rich in spirit as the upper class is monetarily. Displaying connected moments that we’ve been removed from, the scenes Nap and Connective Tissue remind us of the times we’ve had to put physical connections on hold. Connective Tissue captures a kid with a runny nose and a father whom the nose is running onto; it’s sweet and funny in a gross way.
Nap, 2021 © Tyler Mitchell. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Mitchell’s roots are the places where historically black Americans have been forced into segregation, from other communities and from their family. Even on the beach, everyone is separated, and Mitchell goes so far to make this point by having someone in a chair in the middle of a party, a party where everyone is pretty distant from each other, except for parents and their kids.
Everyone is immaculately dressed, except for boys in the lake; even the gatherings on the beach where everyone is having a great time with their family or throwing a football around, everyone looks like they recently came from a formal gathering. Mitchell remarks on the religious south, so it could be a reference to the joy and solidarity religion gives sometimes. Some of Mitchell’s models have red lines drawn on them, and some scenes are set up to divide the subjects. His work aims to have a political impact, having given lectures on the politics of image-making, and here we see that Mitchell creates a parallel between segregation, redlining, and social distancing.
Impact, 2021 © Tyler Mitchell. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
The similarities between the pandemic’s social distancing and redlining, as it relates to Mitchell, show that these new dilemmas are reminiscent of old practices, and in these times where we’re all forced to isolate ourselves and become trapped in a world of loneliness, black Americans in the South have known that in these moments we still have family and love. If we had the support and love from our friends and family, and if we could hold onto those connections in person, the pandemic would not be so bad. The idea Mitchell outlines is one that shows us that even when we’re separated, it’s important to find and maintain that sense of community.
Tyler Mitchell was born in Georgia in 1995, and now works and lives in Brooklyn, New York. He received a degree from NYU, has been in exhibitions in Amsterdam and New York, and has lectured at the International Center of photography, Harvard University and Paris Photo. Dreaming in Real Time can be seen at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York until October 30, 2021.
Construction, 2021 © Tyler Mitchell. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
