2024 Issue 1 Jan/Feb Focus - Mid-South Magazine

To be creative, to
create, are almost
synonymous
to being an
archivist, activist,
historian, artist,
archaeologist,
hunter, gatherer,
an exorcist, a
medium.
piece. Within two days, the piece was reprinted and reinstalled.
At the time of the incident, Kha was more concerned with the attention taken away
from the other 60-plus artists in the show. He said, “I think it's important to walk through
and appreciate the work of all types of people, each artist representing a bit of that.
That's what I choose to focus on.”
Kha also felt that if people had looked into the context of his work and of that piece,
they would realize that it was very much in keeping with the body of his other work and
his interest in Elvis, as well as Elvis tribute artists.
Kha spent most of the following months taking a break from social media. He was
exhausted by the controversy and by people contacting him about it. “On one hand it
worked out for me, but I don't want people to see just that it worked out for me, but how
do we prevent this from happening again?”
There is some history in Memphis of controversy around public art, like Birdcap’s
2016 mural as part of the Memphis Heritage Trail project in collaboration with artist
Derrick Dent. Located on the side of the downtown Memphis MLGW building,
Birdcap, also known as Michael Roy’s mural, received criticism for “Black Lives Matter
affiliations” and was in danger of being removed by the city of Memphis if not for
significant backlash on social media. Kha wants there to be a safety net to prevent this
kind of controversy from resulting in censorship. He looks forward to workshops with
public art directors and lawyers in the arts, and to have workshops about professional
development and handling contracts. “I’m thinking of small gestures trying to redirect
the conversation in more productive ways,” said Kha.
Kha says that the unwanted attention also detracted from Tennessee passing anti-trans
bills and other important topics during the time of the art controversy. “Those are real
conversations and real policies that I feel are urgently important to talk about: gun safety,
how not to be fearful, how do you heal as a community, talk about difficult things without
apprehension, without being yelled at. That's what I think we are capable of. And I think I
want to say that the community response to the airport controversy was one of the most
beautiful things. I think what Memphis does affects the country, that coming together not
just in support, but that interaction, and just the togetherness, that community in action.
Yeah, I really hope that for others. I hope that other people feel that and receive that.”
all photos courtesy of Tommy Kha
Jan+Feb 2024 | focuslgbt.com | Creativity 23