Shadows Gather Keeps It Real at Meow Wolf's First Photography Exhibit

Meow Wolf Denver is displaying its first-ever photography exhibit in honor of this year's Month of Photography. In Club We Trust: Portraits of the Underground by nightlife documentarian Shadows Gather depicts photos taken over a single night at an alternative drag show at Trade.

The artist, who goes by Shadow, sets the record straight right away. "I don't take any daytime photos," she says. "They're all candid. I don't do any set photography; that bores me. I'd rather be taking photos with a cocktail in my hand. It just makes it more fun."

Collaged on the wall of C-Street's Galleri Gallery inside the Convergence Station are scanned and blown-up photos that Shadow shot on a disposable 35mm camera of the performers getting ready in a makeshift dressing room — a semi-truck out back. The photos capture a diverse range of subjects, but they all have a similar ethereal quality, even as they are shown getting dressed, putting on wigs and brushing on makeup. "I wanted to show the progression of what it takes to be a performer in the queer community, and I think the backstage photos are more of an intimate look at what they do," Shadow says.

Framed in front of the collage are blown-up glamour shots that Shadow took of the performers' completed looks on her Fuji Neo Classic Mini, an instant camera. "What Shadow does is so important for our community," says Musk Rat, one of the performers from the event. "She's able to capture these moments and looks that only last for one night — outfits and performances that would otherwise be created and lost forever in the passage of time."

Every photo Shadow took that night is on the wall, whether it's perfect or not. "I really want to let people know that you don't have to have fancy gear. You can use a toy camera," Shadow says. "And your photos don't have to be perfect. These days, everyone is so used to Instagram and Instagram photos and everything being edited. There hasn't been any editing to any of the photos that I've taken."
Shadow likes using film cameras because they're user-friendly and there's something naturally filter-like to the quality of the photos. She also finds that since people don't take the cameras she uses as seriously, she is able to capture her subjects more candidly. "If you were to put me with another photographer in a club, a lot of the times people get over-animated, they really try to pose or they get really shy with a real camera," she says. "With me and my toy camera, everyone just thinks it's a good time and they don't take it so seriously. I feel like I get a softer look; I feel like it's their true self. They're not really acting; they're just having a good time."

By scanning and blowing up the images, she forces the viewer to really see the details, even the environmental ones, like a rip in the paper around the instant photo, shoe prints and smudges of lipstick. "There was one time that I took a bunch of photos and I had a few cocktails and then I dropped them in the alley," Shadow recalls. "The photos were scratched and they were dirty. I was so upset and then whenever I got home and scanned them, I actually really liked that dirt from the alley and smudges from makeup."

As audio is part of the immersive experience at Meow Wolf, it also has a place in In Club We Trust. Shadow and Meow Wolf artist liaison Brandon Vargas went back to Trade to record the audio now playing in the Galleri Gallery. "I wanted people to feel in the moment at the club, the excitement, the chatter, the laughs, the drinks," Shadow says. "I wanted everyone to be able to experience the full range of emotions — maybe it's somebody who hasn't been to a club for a while, coming in and being able to remember it. I like hearing the gossip; you can pick up on us talking about different things, and it's just a really fun way to incorporate another fun element in the show. You can hear the compliments people give each other, you can hear me taking photos in the background, and I think it's just a nice way to round it out."

Shadow has been in the nightlife scene since before she could legally get into clubs. "As soon as I was able to sneak in, I was sneaking in," she admits. After she was gifted an Instax camera, she took it with her that night, wanting to take photos of interesting people and give them a photo, too. "I always take two photos; it's been my party favor," she says. The next morning, she looked at all the photos from the night before and saw a lot of potential. She started an Instagram and had a thousand followers within a couple of weeks. That account, @shadows.gather, now has 10,000 followers.
Shadow takes photos of people she thinks look beautiful and interesting — people who put time and effort into an outfit. Sometimes they're people with whom she shares a drink; sometimes they're friends. "Really, it's people who I want to talk to," she says. "I feel that a camera is a good way to introduce yourself to people and get to know people. I'm actually a really shy person. The camera has helped me bridge that gap into meeting people."

Koven, the drag show Shadow documented at Trade for the exhibit, is one of Shadow's favorite events. It's a "drag performance and art space where queer people can get on stage and exorcise the difficulties that come with moving through society as an outsider," says Koven producer Novelí. "We are grateful to Shadow for platforming our art when many other venues might deem it too risque to be featured."

While Shadow had to put the exhibition together quickly, she still put a lot of thought into how Meow Wolf's general audience would react to images. "I want them to see a sense of humanity," she says. "The people in the photos look different, they look crazy. It could be something that people are not really used to. But I think you can look at them and say, 'This is a beautiful piece of work and I can be who I want to be.' I hope somebody will be inspired to maybe dress up on a day that's not Halloween."

In Club We Trust runs through April 23 at Meow Wolf, and is included with Meow Wolf's general admission. On April 8 from 6 to 10 p.m., Shadow will hold an instant photography and frame-making workshop at Meow Wolf's Sips (With a Z).