ABOUT VISCERAL: LEGACY

The opportunity to experience the Alaska State Museum collection is a rare gift. Like so many museums and cultural institutions around the world, the Alaska State Museum is a treasure trove of history, culture, art, and beauty… and like other museums, only a sampling can be on display at any one time. I spent many hours with Alaska State Museum Conservator Ellen Carrlee visiting with these precious objects to highlight works that speak to technology, connection to material, and most importantly, the perseverance and resilience of Alaska Native cultures.

We have selected gut objects that address many issues that are close to our hearts. As individual objects, they might speak softly about history, culture, family, and the life of Alaska’s First Peoples. But collectively as a group, they could speak loudly about the abuse, marginalization, commodification and struggle of these peoples. As a visual artist, my goal is to present a conceptual installation, a personal exploration of the transformative power of these utilitarian objects. I did not want to display these articles in a conventional manner. The label text contains the currently known historical information to celebrate these artists. Their skill and understanding of both material and immaterial gut knowledge is profound. I consider myself a beginner in comparison to these culture bearers.

— Sonya Kelliher-Combs