Exhibitions

​JOSH STRYDOM: DISAPPOINTED

Rust Hall Alumni Gallery (Memphis College of Art) / 1930 Poplar Ave. May 23, 2017 - July 30, 2017

Josh Strydom

WHAT: Disappointed exhibit by Zimbabwean artist Josh Strydom in the Alumni Gallery of Rust Hall at Memphis College of Art

Joshua Strydom (BFA ’15) is a Zimbabwean artist, currently based in Prague, Czech Republic. He has exhibited across Southern Africa, the USA, and Central Europe. He has been creating work in Prague since 2014, focusing on the otherness found in contrasting cultures and documenting society through photography and digital collage.

This series explores the idea of unrequited expectations, where people have no return on their emotional investment, or rather a return different from what they had anticipated.  

Strydom uses the tourist attraction of the Astronomical Clock in Prague as the backdrop for creating his photographic collages of the faces of people watching the clock’s show, and their subsequent disappointment.

Ranked #2 behind the Mona Lisa as the most disappointing tourist attraction, the Astronomical Clock show welcomes approximately 700,000 tourists ever year. Strydom records the facial expressions of those visitors using layered, complex forms in his photographs.

Alumni Gallery hours are as follows: Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m., and Sunday noon–4 p.m. All MCA exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public.

Reception for this exhibit, and the Best in Class 2016/17 exhibit, will be on Friday, June 9 from 6-8pm in the Rust Hall Main Gallery and Alumni Gallery.

WHEN: May 23 – July 30

WHERE: Memphis College of Art – Rust Hall, Alumni Gallery, 1930 Poplar Avenue, Overton Park, Memphis, TN 38104

WHY: Memphis College of Art’s Alumni Gallery highlights exceptional series of work by the college’s alumni. Alumnus Josh Strydom will be spending his summer in Memphis both for this exhibit, and to teach two adult community education classes, Elephant Dung Papermaking and Liquid Transfer Painting.

image: Prague Clock by Josh Strydom


For media inquiries, contact Communications Manager Marilyn Koester by email at mkoester@mca.edu or by phone at (901) 272-5113.