Tiffany Smith is an interdisciplinary artist from the Caribbean diaspora who works with photography, video, installation, and design to create photographic portraits, site responsive installations, user engaged experiences, and assemblages focused on identity, representation, cultural ambiguity, and displacement. Using plant matter, design and home decor elements, pattern and costuming as cultural signifiers, visual references from an array of multi-cultural influences, derived from her upbringing between Miami, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, and Jamaica inform images and installations that examine their subject’s individual narratives. Smith’s practice centers on what forms and defines communities of people color, in particular; how they are identified and represented, and how they endure.
I met Tiffany Smith last summer on a freelance assignment for the Queens Times Ledger to cover her installation in Malba, Queens for the Malba Arts Project, aptly titled, "Meet Me in Malba: Carribbean Queen of Queens Edition." While I did some research on Smith's work, I wasn't sure what to expect from this installation. The minute I got there though, I knew I was in for a treat. Tiffany successfully transformed one of Queens' least ethnic neighborhoods into a full Caribbean oasis. If you didn't feel the vibes after entering her sailboat on the lawn, the house's visual and audio delights sold you and right before you left, Smith's homemade Carribbean curry got you hooked on the entire experience.
This Saturday, Tiffany is back in Queens to take part in a panel discussion titled " Claudia and Me" at the Queens Library Central Branch located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd, in Jamaica, Queens this Saturday March 10th at 2:30pm as part of programming for the exhibition "Citizen" at St. John's University. #IWD2018 #PressforProgress
About International Women's Day (8 March) International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
words and photo by Adolfo Steve Vazquez