'Zionville' exhibit shows artist, community growth

A photograph of a man holding the severed head of a deer is among the detailed scenes of rural North Carolina depicted in “Zionville.”

A series of 10 color photographs in the Ackland Art Museum’s “New Currents in Contemporary Art” exhibit, “Zionville” is the work of T. Coke Whitworth, a graduating MFA student at UNC.

“This series of images is about a place where I live now called Zionville in the Western part of the state. I look at tradition, heritage, memory and also the ephemera of everyday life,” Whitworth said.

The series reveals Whitworth’s development as an artist and as a part of Zionville’s community.

“The work in his show, comprised of photographs taken over the past year, show Coke moving from being an observer to being more of a collaborator and participant. He uses the camera as a sort of permission to further research his town of Zionville and to learn more about its history,” said Steven Sewell, an MFA student at UNC.

In addition to photographs, Whitworth has created closer connections to the community and heritage of Zionville.

 “He has grown to especially love the place that he and his family chose to make their home as well as the neighbors who have become close friends,” Sewell said. “I’ve heard in discussions with Coke his love for the people that he’s photographing grow and grow as he’s worked on this project. I think that it’s shown clearly and visually in the photographs themselves.”

“Zionville” documents landscapes and daily routines that are often overlooked.

“The pieces really seem to give you a sense of place and its traditions rather than just a static image,” said senior Sachiv Shah, who visited the exhibit Sunday.

While he has worked in diverse media including collage and animation, Whitworth works mainly in photography.

“Photography affords me a level of description that other media do not. I’ve tried other things but I always return to photography,” Whitworth said.

Whitworth did not always aspire to be an artist.

He came to UNC as an undergraduate and enrolled in the journalism school. The compulsory visual component within the school introduced him to photography.

For the past 10 years Whitworth worked as a commercial photographer.

“I appreciate that work, but for me I needed to go further. I wanted to explore something other than what an editor asked for,” Whitworth said.

Commercial photography has different purposes and constraints than Whitworth’s art.

“I was taught to make a photo that readers don’t have to spend very long on to understand. You’re competing for people’s time,” Whitworth said. “I was relying on almost a formula, not to belittle that kind of work. It’s a different kind of work in the service of something that’s not me.”

Whitworth admires the work of photographers Emmet Gowin, David Spear, Shelby Lee Adams and UNC professor Jeff Whetstone.

Whitworth said his future work will continue the Zionville series. “What’s in the Ackland is my introduction; it’s only the beginning of that series.”

His work will be on display in the Ackland until May 23.



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