Ampacity Framed Artwork by Barry Ace

Ampacity is an electrical term that applies to the measurement of current and the maximum load a conductor, like a wire, can carry. When the conductor is burdened with a load beyond its capacity the system may malfunction or shutdown. Barry Ace uses these electrical terms and objects as metaphors to think through the mechanism of colonization and the physical as well as spiritual burdens placed on Indigenous communities post-contact. In the work Ampacity Ace has created an assemblage of objects and components that appear to be disparate: a quill, wire, a circuit board, the figure of a thunderbird cut out of metal. The conductive copper wire feeds into the top of the circuit board; extending from the bottom edge Ace uses electrical components to simulate traditional Anishinaabe floral beadwork.

Copper is a sacred element in Anishinaabe cosmology; the floral and fauna depicted in traditional beadwork represents plants with healing properties. The birch bark upon which the composition rests references wiigwaasabakoon, the birch bark scrolls used by the Anishinaabe for recording-keeping.