Review: Beverly Buchanan's sculptures turn ramshackle Southern architecture into powerful memorials

An exhibition of works by artist Beverly Buchanan at Spike Island in Bristol is drawing attention for its portrayal of ramshackle miniature buildings inspired by the shacks, sheds and shotgun houses of the American South, according to a review published by The Guardian.

Buchanan, who died in 2015, drew inspiration from childhood visits with her father to tenant farmers and sharecroppers across the American south-east, where she encountered improvised architecture built more than a century after the abolition of slavery. According to the review, she came to see these structures as symbols of survival and perseverance for the people who built and lived in them.

Small scale, large meaning

The review describes the exhibition as filled with small, deliberately rough and dilapidated sculptures made from scrap wood, cardboard and other humble materials, including tiny barns, churches and houses. One larger sculpture, depicting a shed that appears on the verge of collapse, is singled out as a standout piece in the show.

The review notes that Buchanan's later work was often created at a smaller scale due to chronic illnesses that kept her confined to her home for extended periods, a practical constraint that nonetheless became part of the intimate character of her sculptural practice.

By translating vernacular Southern architecture into art, Buchanan's sculptures are presented in the review as combining elements of folk art and minimalism, offering a lasting artistic memorial to the resilience of formerly enslaved communities and their descendants in the American South.