Ray Anthony Barrett

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) presents Who by Fire, an exhibition by the Los Angeles-based artist Ray Anthony Barrett. Rooted in dovetailing practices of artmaking and gastronomy, Barrett’s work often explores themes that emerge through field studies in the landscapes of the American West. For the last five years, his practice has centered critical inquiries into sustainability and future means of existence in a late capitalist society, informed by American legacies of enslavement, genocide, and white settler colonialism.

Through a decolonial lens, Who by Fire returns to fire as one of the most fundamental elements for human survival. The exhibition takes as its starting point the near total estrangement between people and fire in the 21st century, which is closely tied to a broad-scale contemporary disconnection from the natural world. This phenomenon is itself an enduring effect of colonialism and white supremacy in the United States, as Black and Indigenous peoples’ connections to the land have been systematically erased for generations. Using only the most basic tools, Barrett goes deep into the American landscape to engage with fire in a decolonial project of making and maintaining, thinking ahead and looking back for ancestral guidance.

The communal and food-oriented dimensions of fire starting and keeping are a major focus of the exhibition, which features a collaboratively-designed dining area and space dedicated to fire-based cooking. The hearth and table are where people come together to share stories and meals, and to take care of one another. For Barrett, utilizing repurposed and reclaimed materials made through collaboration embodies a holistic philosophy of art that is characteristic to many African, Asian, and Indigenous aesthetic traditions, without hierarchies or divisions between fine art, functional design, or craft, and animated by the art of living, eating, storytelling, spirituality, and dancing.