Project Description

Intertwining issues of race, class and gender, this autobiographical series is an investigation of the aesthetic and cultural divide between white and black, a chasm as palpable as it is “invisible.” As a biracial woman in America, Gaignard interrogates notions of “passing” by positioning her female body as the chief site of exploration—challenging viewers to navigate the power of anxieties within intersectional identity.

This temporary exhibition is on view at 7th Street/Metro Center Station as part of the Metro Art Lightbox Exhibition Program.

Artist Statement

“Photographs present a spectrum of imagined and wholly recognizable ‘selves,’ by which our outward experiences are forged and fashioned, as well as the imperfect relationship between our inner worlds and public lives.”

Ride + Consider

How does the artist visualize the concept of an aesthetic and cultural divide in these images through her choices in setting, clothing, props and self-portraiture?

• Artist Website
• Light Skinned Privilege | Decoded (Video, MTV Impact)
• Passing, in Moments (Essay, Topic.com)

About the Artist

GENEVIEVE GAIGNARD (b. 1981, Orange, Massachusetts), earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Master of Fine Art from Yale University. Gaignard’s work focuses on installation, sculpture and photographic self-portraiture exploring race, femininity and class. Gaignard’s work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S., including the California African American Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Studio Museum in Harlem, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and FLAG Art Foundation. Recent solo exhibitions include Strange Fruit with Vielmetter Los Angeles (2022) and Look At Them Look At Us with Frieze Los Angeles (2020).