Uncovering Richmond's Trail of the Enslaved with Dawoud Bey
Photographer Dawoud Bey's new exhibition, titled "Elegy," focuses on the psychic geography of Richmond, Virginia, exploring its histories of bondage and freedom. Bey's trilogy of series, including the newly commissioned "Stony the Road," captures the invisible yet deeply infused human presence in haunting black-and-white images. Through his work, Bey aims to create a visual exploration of the Black experience and contribute to the conversation on public history. The exhibition, on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, showcases Bey's departure from portraiture and his use of abstraction to communicate American stories.