In Dark Waters, acclaimed photographer Kristine Potter plumbs the relationship between culture and landscape, and specifically that between gendered violence and the Southern landscape.
In her words, this body of work “attempt[s] to make visible the unseen forces through which culture, memory, and embodied perception shape our relationship to place.”
Potter brings together murder ballads, studio portraiture, and landscape photography. Sharp, precise images immerse the viewer in carefully observed views of Southern riverbanks, roadsides, night skies, and bodies of water. Cinematic narrative cues, the juxtaposition of potential settings and characters, and archetypal motifs all invite viewers to step in and construct a story, but who we are in that story—victim, aggressor, witness, observer—is left deeply uncertain.
In Dark Waters, Potter troubles representational traditions, both the narratives of gendered violence that persist as entertainment in music, film, and other media, and depictions of the Southern landscape.
Potter will speak about her work on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. in Guerry Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Acclaimed photographer Kristine Potter has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), the Grand Prix Image Vevey (2019-2020), and the Hariban Prize (2023). Raised in Georgia, she earned a BFA in Photography and a BA in Art History from the University of Georgia, and an MFA from Yale University. She is an Assistant Professor of Photography at MTSU, and lives in Nashville.
This exhibition and event are made possible with the support of the University Lectures Committee, FYE, Film Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Art, and Humanities.
