Belonging, by Sheila Pree Bright

This photo essay delves into the intricate relationship between emotional attachment and physical space, serving as a tribute to my personal journey toward finding a home amid the echoes of my family history and ancestral heritage.

Harvest, Butler Island, Georgia, 2023; © Sheila Pree Bright

A tall stone monument stands in a grassy area edged with trees in this black-and-white photograph.

I was raised in a military family, so the concept of a stable home was elusive to me. Yet recent revelations about my great uncle—a respected physician in Brunswick, Georgia, during the 1960s, especially cherished by the Gullah Geechee communities on the coastal islands of Sapelo and St. Simons—have ignited a quest to connect with my roots.

Black-and-white photograph of a shoreline curving like an S along a placid body of water. A sheet of clouds screens the sky.

Belonging, Sapelo Island, Georgia, 2022; © Sheila Pree Bright

Through a series of emotionally charged black-and-white landscapes, I aim to encapsulate the nuance and complexities inherent in the African American experience.

Black-and-white photograph of surf rolling across a beach. The horizon comes about a third of the way up the composition, and the blanket of clouds above seems to reach toward us.

From Whence We Came, Jekyll Island, Georgia, 2022; © Sheila Pree Bright

These images extend beyond mere scenery; they reach back in time to touch the memories and legacies of our ancestors, offering a tangible sense of place and belonging that has often been withheld from marginalized communities.

We look up sharply at the high, narrow canopy of a tree in this black-and-white photograph. Spanish moss hangs from branches like dripping paint. The tree angles from the lower left corner to almost the upper right against roiling clouds above.

Weeping Moss, Darien, Georgia, 2023; © Sheila Pree Bright

My ultimate aspiration for this photographic exploration is to spark thoughtful dialogue on race, identity, and the significance of place in shaping Black lives.

From low to the ground, tall grasses are outlined against the clouds and the sky above in this black-and-white photograph.

Sweetgrass, St. Simons Island, Georgia, 2023; © Sheila Pree Bright

By shedding light on how African Americans forge connections to their ancestral landscapes, I hope to evoke a sense of communal pride and cultivate a broader empathy and understanding of home.

A weathered hut with a peaked roof sits among lush growth in this dark, black-and-white photograph. The uppermost tip of the roof is missing, and the door and window on the front, facing us, are open, creating gaping holes.

Excerpt from Making Home: Belonging, Memory, and Utopia in the 21st Century, (Cooper Hewitt | The MIT Press, 2025) published in companion with Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial (New York, Nov. 2024-Aug. 2025)

This white-and-black photographic negative is of trees, clouds, and a road or body of water. A tall tree near the center of the picture spins slightly as if the camera was turned when the shutter was open.

Tiny petals of conical blossoms are edged with white against an inky black background in this black-and-white photograph. Some blades of grass or spiky leaves are blurry beyond the blossoms.

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Sheila Pree Bright

Belonging, by Sheila Pree Bright

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