"Images created by René West, assistant professor of photography at Amarillo College, are currently on display at AC’s Southern Light Gallery, for which West has served as curator since fall of 2016.
The exhibit, which will be on display through April 17, features some of West’s favorite photographs from a series she calls “City Walls,” an ongoing project begun in 2007.
West is the fourth curator in the history of Southern Light Gallery, which this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary at the College. Each of the past curators – Robert Hirsch, Jim Jordan and Brent Cavanaugh – have previously exhibited photographs to help mark the celebratory school year.
In the past 10 years, West has shot more than 5,000 photographs in 15 states related to “City Walls,” an undertaking that began when she spied a fading image on an electrical box with a text overlay in an alleyway in Nashville.
“The image, long forgotten by whoever posted it there, was marked by years of weather eroding the surface,” West said. “A curious collaboration of unintended consequences created a collage that was just waiting for me to notice the beauty and magic of its juxtaposition.
“I enjoy the challenge of searching a new city for the area of town where this culture exists. As a photographer, my aim is not to document this work, but to engage with it,” she said, “and find beauty in the random interactions between the city, people, weather, and time.”
The Southern Light Gallery is located on the first floor of the Ware Student Commons at AC’s Washington Street Campus. The gallery is free and open to the public.
For more information, please contact West at rwest@actx.edu or 806-345-5654."
-Amarillo College
