Review // Ashley: Radciffe Roye at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery

Another exhibition I went to was the Silverstein Photography Annual at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery. For this exhibition, ten curators each chose a photographer, whose work they felt deserved to be seen, to include in the exhibition. Because these photographers seemed to be united solely by the fact that they were “emerging” talents, and not by any overarching theme in their works, I decided to focus on one photographer whose work I felt to be especially interesting. This photographer was Radcliffe Roye, who showed six pictures. These pictures were all in color and all featured people. The colors were all very saturated and bright. The pictures appeared to be taken mostly at night (with one exception), both inside and outside of clubs. In my favorite of the photographs, three girls dressed in neon tutus stand outside in front of a wall with a mural painted on it, looking unhappy. The other photographs show different aspects of this club culture focusing especially on how the club goers dress and style themselves. In one photograph, for example, a man shows off the dollar sign he has shaved into his hair while in another a woman seems proud of the tight, short dress she is wearing.

I think that these photographs are about how people present themselves, especially to the opposite sex, and how this presentation may differ from reality. In the photo of the three girls for example, the way in which they are dressed seems meant to project a sense of fun and a lack of seriousness; however, their expressions seem to be ones of discontent. One of the girls holds a drink in her hand, perhaps from the club that she has just left, but she does not seem to be enjoying herself. Behind the girls is a mural of a woman who appears to be older then they are, and seems to be watching them, like a mother might. Although they are obviously trying to appear older then they are, the girls seem to still be very young. Going to clubs like this may be a way of showing their independence and proving to someone like their mother that they are adults. However, despite their attempts to appear as if they are having fun and enjoying themselves, their expressions betray that may feel as if they do not quite belong and do not actually enjoy this lifestyle.

The photograph of the man with the dollar sign shaved into his hair also shows that there is sometimes a disparity between how people try to present themselves and how they actually come across. In the photo, the man’s gesture makes him seem excited to show his hairstyle off; however, the people behind him look bored and unamused, as though they have seen this before. His attempt to portray himself as hip and fun has had the opposite effect and caused him to become an annoyance.

These photographs also show the way in which the two genders present themselves to each other and how this presentation seems to be based on rigid gender roles. In one photograph, two men stand against a wall while another stands off to the side. All three look tough, but their expressions and gestures seem to be more of a conscious imitation of a “tough guy” look, rather than a reflection of who they actually are. In another photograph, a woman dressed in a tight, low cut dress poses in front of a mural on which a young man is painted. She has a sweet, innocent smile, but her clothing is very provocative. The man painted on the wall behind her seems to represent the audience that she is dressing for. Even in the one photograph not taken in or outside a club, of a woman holding a child in front of a clothesline, a woman still wears a very low-cut top, like the kind one would wear to a club. Even outside of the club atmosphere, she still feels a pressure to dress provocatively, even though it seems inappropriate to this situation.