Voz Alta 1821 Gallery presents "The Fire Every Time," a research installation by the artist duo Robyko. The opening reception is Wednesday, May 4 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Voz Alta 1821 Gallery. During the opening at 6:30 p.m., Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui will read a selection of his works. This new work is the third in a series for The Alchemy Project’s Ritual #7: Burn Phoenix to Ancestral. The space will become a darkly lit multi-media environment imagining the fiery end of borders. The exhibit will be open to the public until Thursday, May 26, 2022. About the artists: Sherwin Bitsui (Diné) is originally from White Cone, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. He is Diné of the Todich’ii’nii (Bitter Water Clan), born for the Tl’izilani (Many Goats Clan). He is the author of Shapeshift, Flood Song, and Dissolve. His honors include a Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship and a Native Arts & Culture Foundation Arts Fellowship. He is also the recipient of a 2010 PEN Open Book Award, an American Book Award, and a Whiting Writers Award. He is on faculty at Northern Arizona University. About robyko: Based in San Diego, California, robyko is a collaborative duo: Robert J. Sanchez (rob) and Emiko René Lewis-Sanchez (ko). As “anti-career artists,” they use low-tech aesthetics, misappropriation, and faux marketing as strategies to create cultural critiques. Their artwork is part of one endeavor: The Alchemy Project (TAP). TAP began in 2004 when they developed 19 action statements, which serve as the titles and concepts for rituals. Since then, they have been investigating, analyzing, documenting, and archiving their process of inventing a poetic science of flesh and bone as a means to create “alchemy.” TAP’s Research Archives consist of numerous interdisciplinary artworks: performances, installations, videos, photos, objects, paintings, drawings, and irrational experiments. Previously, they have been a part of the following collaborative groups: BAW/TAF, Los Anthropolocos, La Pocha Nostra, Corner Liquor Store, The Infinity Lab, and Mobile Toy Theater. For more information, please visit the event's Facebook page.
