Altarlife 1, 2, 3, 2022. Bone pigment, paper, aluminum, plexiglass.
The BackendMontclair State University Galleries
Montclair State University Galleries presents The Backend, a group exhibition of works
by thirteen contemporary artists who delve into the protocols and agreements that shape our society and
the framework of our participation. These often hidden structures, such as the code behind digital
platforms or legal systems that dictate the use and access to information, significantly impact our daily
lives and cannot be skirted without voiding participation. Artists approach these arrangements often
already in place without mutual agreement, revealing societal givens we are born into regardless of our
willingness and understanding. The artists aim to reveal these hidden structures and how they manifest,
where encounters with refusals, confusion, bureaucracy, and denial function like dog whistles to
investigate further.
Works in the exhibition:
TJ Shin shares their experiences as a fellow at the University of Indiana in Altarlife 1, 2, 3. Through
architectural details from the archives that house the university's Native American artifacts, Shin sheds
light on the protocols that permit displacement and violence, allowing museums to simultaneously
allow and restrict access to cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge systems. Each image of the
archive is paired with photographs of nearby indigenous sites where objects and materials are extracted,
juxtaposing concepts of ownership, cultural stewardship, and extraction. Shin reflects on the position
artists find themselves in when invited to produce work for institutions that participate in forms of
colonial violence.
Image credit: Montclair State University Galleries and photographer Cary Whittier