Landscape With Figures, 2026
(performance / installation)
(performance / installation)
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Conductions: Black Imaginings II was a series of in-gallery activations that explored the ways Black performance, sound, video, and social-practice art bridge the present and future Museum space. This iteration considered the role of ephemera as a conduit for remembrance through the performance work of Noah Beckham, Bridgette Hickey, and Miles Greenberg, alongside a piece by Nick Cave from the Museum’s collection. As a cumulative exhibition, the artists filled the gallery through live performance, leaving behind objects that remained on view until the close of the show.
Central to this activation series was Landscape with Figures, a seven-hour endurance work by Miles Greenberg. Centralizing the body as sculptural material, the piece invited visitors to reflect on decay, change, and the living movement present in both land and body through duration and stillness. For this iteration, the grueling performance was brought to life by Mykel Illa and AfreakanO, leaving a lasting imprint on both the physical space and the narrative of the exhibition.
Curated by Jaleesa Johnston
Produced by Portland Art Museum
Performed by Mykel Illa and AfreakanO
Images by Nina Johnson
Location: Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Conductions: Black Imaginings II was a series of in-gallery activations that explored the ways Black performance, sound, video, and social-practice art bridge the present and future Museum space. This iteration considered the role of ephemera as a conduit for remembrance through the performance work of Noah Beckham, Bridgette Hickey, and Miles Greenberg, alongside a piece by Nick Cave from the Museum’s collection. As a cumulative exhibition, the artists filled the gallery through live performance, leaving behind objects that remained on view until the close of the show.
Central to this activation series was Landscape with Figures, a seven-hour endurance work by Miles Greenberg. Centralizing the body as sculptural material, the piece invited visitors to reflect on decay, change, and the living movement present in both land and body through duration and stillness. For this iteration, the grueling performance was brought to life by Mykel Illa and AfreakanO, leaving a lasting imprint on both the physical space and the narrative of the exhibition.
Curated by Jaleesa Johnston
Produced by Portland Art Museum
Performed by Mykel Illa and AfreakanO
Images by Nina Johnson