Acknowledging the reciprocal nature of migration as a non-linear course of movement, Báez seeks to underscore streams of influence that are often stifled by dominant and reductive understandings about migration...
Acknowledging the reciprocal nature of migration as a non-linear course of movement, Báez seeks to underscore streams of influence that are often stifled by dominant and reductive understandings about migration that suggest a singular direction of transmission. In this painting, a vibrantly-colored figure crouches onto a reproduction of a map from 1794 entitled “A Correct Chart of Hispaniola with the Windward Passage,” which describes the navigation of the West Indies. Taken from a major sea-atlas published in England, the map illustrates trade routes across the Caribbean region that circulate not only commodities and bodies, but also ideologies and revolutionary precedent. Using abstract gesture to build swirling layers that ultimately comprise a strong, shape-shifting female protagonist in the center of this composition, Báez choreographs a new relationship with these channels of movement, challenging legacies of capitalism and imperialism to create possibilities for self-determination and alternate futures.
James Cohan Tribeca, Firelei Báez, March 8 - April 25, 2020
Publications
O'Callaghan, Evelyn and Tim Watson (eds.), Caribbean Literature in Transition, vol. 1: 1800-1920s, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020 (cover). Pastor, Mara, Deuda Natal, University of Arizona Press, 2021. (Jacket illustration) Golden, T., Respini, E., Godfrey, M., Acevedo-Yates, C., & Russell, L. (2022). Firelei Báez: To breathe full and free (D. Norr, Ed.). New York, NY: Gregory R. Miller & Co., pp. 192-94.