refuge | the photography of RaMell Ross

[June 13-24, 2011 at the Wix Lounge - 10 W 18th Street, 2nd Fl, New York, NY]

In the heart of the Southeast, there exists a crescent-shaped region where the black, rich soil once produced abundant cotton and prosperity. Now a shell of its former glory, the Southern Black Belt, as it is often referred, contains some of the poorest counties in the United States.

The Black Belt sweeps through seventeen counties in Alabama alone, where common township characteristics include high rates of poverty, unemployment, and low-achieving schools. Yet organizations such as YouthBuild USA, a national youth and community development program that simultaneously addresses core issues facing low-income communities, are refusing to accept these statistics and are working tirelessly to cultivate the incredible wealth of possibility and hope that exists in the people of these forgotten places.

Drawn from three series in RaMell Ross’ Black Belt Project, refuge provides a visual account of the unyielding frustrations and fleeting gratifications experienced by the young adults participating in YouthBuild initiatives in the Black Belt community of Greensboro, Alabama. The photographs in the exhibition provide haunting, and sometimes heartbreaking, insight into a world far removed from the everyday conversations of society.

Please visit the following links to see the three photography series that will be on display: 36744, But Also Dream, Not Only… and 2^nd Chance Kids. Each are taken with an outsider’s eye, exposing the obvious realities on the surface while inviting viewers to inquire about the resounding failures and silent triumphs that exist underneath. Photographs from the exhibition that are still available can be purchased through our e-commerce site:http://www.wix.com/forbyfor4x4/wixgallery