Memorial Meditations is a solo exhibition of sculptures and photo-based work by Birmingham-based artist Tony Bingham. Memorial Meditations pulls together objects that span nearly two decades of practice in Birmingham, the Black Belt region, and across the state of Alabama.
Works in this exhibition bring together themes the artist has focused on in recent years including communion, convict labor, place, shared trauma, and “African American rural ways of memorializing.” Bingham’s research and resulting work explore communities and public space – sites of enslaved, extractive, or industrialized labor – throughout Alabama including Fairfield, Helena, Panola, Tannehill, and Titusville. Through his sculptures, large-scale photography, and found audio work, Bingham makes reference to unmarked burial sites and vernacular headstones and calls into question where, how, and who we collectively remember.
At the exhibition opening and artists talk, Bingham shared his exceptional collection gospel and soul vinyl LPs and burned jasmine incense to replicate the artist’s studio experience for attendees.
Memorial Meditations includes language that may be challenging to some audience members.
Multi-disciplinary artist Tony M. Bingham lives and works in Birmingham, AL. Bingham received his B.A. in Communications from Antioch College, an MA in Film and Community Media from Goddard College, and an MFA from Georgia State University. He has taught humanities, studio art, and art history at Spelman College, Kennesaw State University, and Jefferson State Community College. He was an artist-in-residencies at the Caversham Center for Artists and Writers in South Africa and the Cultural Alliance of Birmingham. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including Space One Eleven, Stephen Smith Fine Arts, and upcoming, collaborative work at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Bingham currently teaches humanities and studio art at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama.
Support for this program was provided by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, VIA Art Fund, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.