Tommy Kha (American, b. 1988), Headtown (V), Whitehaven, Memphis, 2017. Image courtesy and © Tommy Kha
Anderman Photography Lecture: Tommy Kha
In his work, which is part-autobiography and part-fantasy, photographer Tommy Kha explores fragmentation, the immigrant experience, and the evolving nature of identity. He reflects on family history, his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, his own life, and how the past reverberates in the present. Often infused with a sense of humor, Kha’s performative photographs playfully include himself, or extensions of himself in the forms of a mask or cutouts, in scenes before the camera, questioning what shapes identity and challenging the ways it can be represented in photography.
He is the 2021 recipient of the Next Step Award and his monograph Tommy Kha: Half, Full, Quarter was published by Aperture in 2023. Tommy Kha lives and works between Brooklyn, NY, and Memphis, TN, and currently teaches at Yale University.
This event is part of the 2024-25 Anderman Photography Lecture Series.
Tommy Kha, Headtown (XII), Midtown Memphis, 2021. Image courtesy and © Tommy Kha
Tommy Kha, Stops (II), Marsha P Johnson State Park, Brooklyn, NY, 2020. Image courtesy and © Tommy Kha
Tommy Kha, Sheepshead (II), Echo Park, Los Angeles, 2018. Image courtesy and © Tommy Kha
Tommy Kha, Take (XIII), Park Slope, Brooklyn, 2017. Image courtesy and © Tommy Kha
The Anderman Photography Lecture Series presents talks by the preeminent creators and thinkers in photography today. Series funding is generously provided by Evan and Elizabeth Anderman.
