Follow Your Light
INDUSTRY One officially launched its art gallery series on February 17th, 2023 featuring our first artist: Josué Rivas.
FOLLOW YOUR LIGHT
Follow Your Light is a portal to a circular way of being. Through visual storytelling, Josué Rivas reveals the power of intergenerational healing, visioning, and poetry.
As an indigenous and Mexican artist, Josue offers a fresh perspective in the world of Portland visual storytelling. His creative practice can be described as personal as we see the struggles and transformation that comes with having an alcoholic father reflected in his work. On the other hand, Josué is able to connect with all walks of life through his collaboration with underrepresented communities such as the houseless community, the Black Lives Matter movement, the undocumented, and tribal nations. He sees the camera as more than just a camera, but as a powerful vehicle for healing.
As a way to symbolize the gallery’s theme being the cycle of life, Josue was physically buried in the middle of the gallery space. Every guest that came through the door was cleansed with sage and given a flower to place on top of Josué’s “burial”.
This event was extremely meaningful—not just for the artist himself but for Portland as a whole. This wasn’t just a gallery show, but an intentional and powerful healing ceremony.
