Genevieve Gaignard, “Hoodrat Thangs” (2015)
In Genevieve Gaignard’s solo show “Us Only” at Shulamit Nazarin, she imagines three distinct character personas, all of which connect to her identity as a high yellow femme woman. She is of mixed race but her identity reads to most people as a “ginger,” a white girl, ultimately rendering her invisible as a person of color.
The three domestic installations of Gaignard’s show set up girl characters that are beginning to form their own identities, each with their own signifiers of race, class, sexuality and gender. In the first domestic installation, where the walls are a powder pink color, we encounter a plethora of porcelain kitty sculptures, baby pictures of Gaignard and her family, an old-fashioned white wicker chair, and a litter box that’s too small for an actual cat. We also see present-day photographs of her in character, standing in front of a 99 Cent store on Sunset Boulevard. We are left wondering who she is, what she will buy, who she will become, and how she’ll start to actualize herself in the world. We also wonder if the character is a secret cat sculpture hoarder.
Read the full review: http://www.craveonline.com/art/928457-review-genevieve-gaignard-coded-for-us-only#j5hgVcEImlDGM7dk.99
