Shadows Gather: Blue Smiles

Lane Meyer Projects

LMP PDA: Public-facing window on view at all hours

2528 Walnut Street, Denver, CO 80205

September 8-20, 2020

Admission: Free

Review by Madeleine Boyson

Once spotted amidst the mess of brick on Walnut Street, the delight of Lane Meyer Projects’ newest window installation draws in a beleaguered mask-wearer like a moth to a flame. A single print called Blue Smiles and a handful of hanging plexiglass “stickers” [1] by the artist Shadow, from her project Shadows Gather, decorate the LMP PDA space as part of an ongoing window series curated by Brooke Tomiello and Rose van Mierlo. Blue Smiles recalls the bustling Denver nightlife of the “Before Times” and reminds viewers that even in the midst of global meltdown, there is still joy to be found in the city and in each other.

The window display exhibition titled Blue Smiles by the artist Shadow from her project Shadows Gather, plexiglass stickers and photo scanned from original Fuji Instax film inkjet printed on 285gsm Ultrasmooth 100% cotton fine art archival paper, 20 … — The window display exhibition titled *Blue Smiles* by the artist Shadow from her project Shadows Gather, plexiglass stickers and photo scanned from original Fuji Instax film inkjet printed on 285gsm Ultrasmooth 100% cotton fine art archival paper, 20 x 30 inches unframed. Image courtesy of Lane Meyer Projects.

True to the piece’s title, a smile is the memorable mark of Shadow’s installation. In Blue Smiles, Shadow captures a joyful figure with a blue-painted face. Closing their eyes in genuine mirth, drink in hand, they beam for Shadow’s Fujifilm Instax Neo Classic Mini camera and the iPhone flashlight seen blurred up in top right corner—both of which allow the artist to capture the “colorful individuals” [2] that flourish in Denver’s club scene, even when lighting is low. The figure wears a striped shirt of primary colors and stands near a yellow and black striped wall. Context and medium work together as color and feeling fluoresce abstractedly around the figure’s singular blue smile.

The spontaneity of Shadow’s Fujifilm Instax also reflects a pulsing celebration of life in the now, which is mirrored in the installation display. According to her statement, Shadow uses instantaneous photos to preserve an otherwise unseen underground culture. As a result, her medium plays with instant gratification to immortalize “misfits” and “creatures of the night” [3] in an unconventional way.

A close-up view of Shadow’s Blue Smiles exhibition at LMP PDA. Image by DARIA. — A close-up view of Shadow’s *Blue Smiles* exhibition at LMP PDA. Image by DARIA.

Shadow’s color coordinating Instagram “stickers” similarly speak to the punch and immediacy of social media. The pop art “New Post” shape comes straight from an ephemeral Instagram story in which an influencer or artist alerts their followers to a new, more permanent post on their page. And the heart, lips, and sparkle stickers similarly recall those used on the same platform to enhance even the most spontaneous of stories. Shadow consequently invites us to catch and like posts while they are still relevant (an ever-diminishing window of time) and to collect joyous moments where and while we can.

A day time street view of Shadow’s Blue Smiles exhibition at LMP PDA. Image by Madeleine Boyson. — A day time street view of Shadow’s *Blue Smiles* exhibition at LMP PDA. Image by Madeleine Boyson.

Shadow owes much of her success so far to the following she’s garnered on Instagram, where she has posted her film originals since March 2019. She invites her followers to “see a friend/tag the friend” [4] to share the work more broadly. Yet by scanning and printing the photographs as blown-up, framed, and signed prints for sale in LMP PDA’s window, Shadow augments the work from aesthetic documentation to a more permanent and distributable medium. Creatures of the night become creatures of the day and night when viewed above ground on a busy Five Points street. And Blue Smiles’s euphoria becomes something shareable both on and off of social media.

The intent of the LMP PDA project is to “propose a new way of thinking and looking together” during the pandemic. [5] Lane Meyer is also forgoing all gallery commissions to support artists, who in turn will donate part of their sales to an organization of their choosing. Such reinvention of the gallery space coupled with Shadow’s work calls on the viewer to reimagine collectivity in hard times. And one result of this togetherness? Shareable joy.

Shadow will be donating 50% of all sales from this exhibition to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

Madeleine Boyson is an independent writer, curator, lecturer, and artist located in Denver, Colorado. Her scholarship is concentrated American modernism and (dis)ability studies, including issues of care and dependency as well as the wholeness of the body. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History and History from the University of Denver.

[1] According to the artist’s Instagram post from September 9, 2020: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE6ulOgl9xg/.

[2] From the artist’s statement on site.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Seen on Shadow’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2VWpxllazJ/.

[5] According to the gallery’s website: http://www.lanemeyerprojects.com/lmp-pda.