Christy Bush
Soundtrack to Nothing
$40.00

When San Francisco resident and Atlanta expatriate Constance Lewis was struck with the idea to open a photo gallery, she wanted to create an institution that was owned and operated by artists for artists that places an emphasis on showcasing photo-based mediums and isn’t ruled by the financial pressures of the commercial art world. That vision culminated with The Opal Gallery, Lewis’ new storefront gallery in the long-dormant space adjacent to A Cappella Books.

For her inaugural show Lewis enlisted another former Georgian, New York-based photographer Christy Bush, to showcase her latest work, Soundtrack to Nothing. Bush’s photographs capture contemporary teenage culture lost in the moment at rock concerts around the world. All of the sadness, elation, melancholy and wonder of youthful abandon is frozen in each photograph and occasionally punctuated with vague bits impressionist dialogue.

Some characters make recurring appearances while others pop up only once before disappearing back into the crowd. All of them are no less captivating faces in the crowd who reveal their personalities and give detail to all of the joys and dramas of their young lives.

Soundtrack To Nothing comes complete with an actual soundtrack of its own. The score that will play in conjunction with the images is a collection of songs written by the Last Night recording project, which features contributions fromSam Fog from Interpol and Dagon James, in collaboration with former Swervedriver frontman Adam Franklin, Grasshopper of Mercury Rev and Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

Chad Radford: Why use Christy Bush for your opening?
Constance Lewis: Soundtrack to Nothing is the creation of an Atlanta raised artist and is the perfect opening for our Little 5 Points gallery in that it speaks to community, creativity, music and youth. Christy’s portrait series has been shown in NYC, Tokyo and now Altanta where the story originated.
What draws you to Bush’s photographic narratives?
I grew up in Atlanta in the 80’s and was one of those teenage music fans. These portraits are very familiar to me.
What do you have planned for 2008?
Opal Gallery is curated by a variety of artists, so the curators will decide. In the upcoming year we plan to import a little bit of San Francisco, New York, France and New Orleans to Atlanta-- mix it into the creative pot here.

In addition to Opal Gallery’s exhibits, the space will be the new home to many of A Cappella’s literary & musical events.

Soundtrack to Nothing by Christy Bush, book & CD ($40) is available exclusively in Atlanta at A Cappella Books.