To Whom It May Concern is an ensemble of Gaignard’s photography, collage works, and her signature constructed domestic spaces. In these works she confronts perspectives of American culture to elicit dialogue around the intricacies of race, beauty and cultural identity, which are often viewed through a lens of nostalgia and sentimentality. The associations created by her imagery and objects challenge socially accepted narratives to provoke self-reflection and reexamination. As a biracial woman Gaignard has consistently grappled with others’ acceptance of her mixed race. She probes this notion of “passing” by positioning her own female body as the subject in her photographs and staged with familiar objects and “props” that blend eras, economic class, and race. Her poses are amplifications and performative that teeter between symbolic and autobiographical realms to push against stereotypes. The exhibition title reinforces a nostalgic social norm used to address an ambiguous group of people or persons that would be most responsible for action or reaction to Gaignard’s explorations.

Photos by Constance Mensh