Artist Tiffany Smith, represented by the Nassau-based gallery TERN, held a special Artist Activation event at the debut PHOTOFAIRS New York in September. Creating an interactive photobooth installation to coincide with her series Throned, Smith invited participants to sit on a wicker chair and engage with the space as a place for meditation and reflection. The peacock throne was embellished with healing stones and crystals and placed within a booth lined with custom wallpaper featuring botanical drawings native to the Caribbean. Located in the heart of the fair, visitors could participate in sittings with Smith, who held two portrait sessions during the fair, or interact with the booth themselves.
© Casey Kelbaugh
Reflecting on holding the activation at PHOTOFAIRS, Smith said on her Instagram account: ‘Having so many artists and photographers come through the booth was a different experience!’. Here are nine portraits that stood out to PHOTOFAIRS New York, you can view more images on Tiffany Smith’s Instagram account @tiffanysmithstudio
Tiffany Smith is an interdisciplinary artist from the Caribbean diaspora working in photography, video, installation, and design. Using plant matter, design and home decor elements, patterns, and costuming as cultural signifiers, Smith creates photographic portraits, site-responsive installations and user-engaged experiences focused on identity, representation, cultural ambiguity, and displacement.
© Casey Kelbaugh
Smith is represented by TERN, a contemporary art gallery focusing on emerging and mid-career artists from The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. TERN celebrates and supports regional contributions to the visual arts while contributing to the international contemporary art market. The core mandates are to operate and maintain a public gallery to exhibit artworks from a global network of artists, to collaborate with the best minds and tastemakers in the industry, and to encourage the development of the local art market. As our name suggests, TERN encompasses a sense of local belonging with global access.
TERN exhibited at PHOTOFAIRS New York 2023.
