[409] Photographer, medical physicist discusses African ‘gold’ on ‘MTSU On the Record’

MURFREESBORO — An MTSU alumnus who went to Africa to treat illnesses and managed to find gold will be the guest on the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Adam Shulman will air from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, and from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 23, on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org.

Shulman’s debut solo photography exhibition, “The Gold of Africa,” is on display through May 6 at Tinney Contemporary Art Gallery, 237 5^th Ave. N. in Nashville.

The self-taught photographer took the pictures while working as a medical physicist in Senegal, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Qatar. He spent over a year shooting and editing the photos, which consist of 19 images and five behind-the-scenes videos showing Shulman and the models in action.

The dynamic images of black men and women decorated with gold in various positions on the bodies create a startling contrast as Shulman attempts to convey that the “gold” in Africa is not in a precious metal, but in the hearts and souls of its people.

“The gold substance (applied to the models’ bodies) was actually just … potting clay,” said Shulman. “I would mix it with water, get it into a wet sort of mud, put it on the models’ bodies and then I would use a hair dryer to dry it. As it dried, it sort of hardened and cracked and got the look that it has.”

Shulman graduated summa cum laude from MTSU with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2007. He earned his master’s degree in medical physics from Vanderbilt University in 2009.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.