Rope, wooden sculpture, sawhorses, mirror, Boxing gloves, manila envelope with ten pictures, tween bed and bedings, raquet, computer chair, suit, several ties, computer, karate gi and belts, picture frame, books, and television.
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 2019
Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art, 2017
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
Sandra Barrera, Los Angeles Daily News Thursday, June 15, 2017
Temporary Storage: The Belongings of Juan Manuel Montes,” a “dreamer” protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program designed to shield kids brought to the country illegally and recently deported by President Donald Trumpʼs administration.
The work is a re-creation of Ontiverosʼ 2009 work. In this updated version, the artist gathers Montesʼ personal belongings — a plaid quilt- covered twin bed, flat-screen TV, basketball, office chair, red boxing gloves, full-length door mirror, welding books and clothing — and bundles them together with ropes.
The objects are shown precariously balanced atop a pair of sawhorses to represent the instability in the lives of undocumented immigrants with no permanent place to call home. Link