Bayeté Ross Smith

Passing

March 16 – April 12, 2007
Bluespace Gallery
593 Guerrero Street, San Francisco

Bluespace Gallery is pleased to present Passing, a solo exhibition by
artist Bayeté Ross Smith. Ross Smith’s work explores photographic
portraiture as a means to deconstruct the traditional gaze that
permeates society’s notions of individual and national representation.

The effects of race, ethnicity, nationality, and class on the
perception of identity are central themes in Passing. Throughout the
gallery, a row of Digital C-prints depicts passports from a dozen
countries. One of two characters appears repetitively in the passport
photographs, their head–shot repeated in the varied context of
disparate nationalities and personal information. By exposing how the
elements determining identity change meaning when their context
shifts, Passing exposes identity as a fluid concept that can and is
constantly transforming. The shifting look of the two characters (one
male, one female) draws attention to our personal criteria for
allowing individuals to pass freely into our lives, both socially and
professionally. By concentrating on the personal gaze, awareness is
brought to the biases that govern our lives domestically and
globally. Viewed as a series, Passing raises questions about who is
allowed to pass through these systems, which ultimately enhance or
restrict individuals’ access to the resources of the contemporary
global society.

Bayeté Ross Smith has exhibited at museums and galleries
internationally including the Leica Gallery, New York, Goethe
Institute, Accra, Ghana, Zacheta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland,
and The Philadelphia African American Museum. Ross Smith was included
in Gen Arts Bay Area Emerge exhibition in 2005.

Passing will be on view from March 16 – April 12, 2007. A reception
will be held for the artist on Friday, March 16, from 7-10pm at 593
Guerrero Street, San Francisco. For further information please
contact the gallery at 415-431-BLUE.