Gilberto Rivera’s “Jailbirds” imagines freedom in incarceration — huge
At the Center for Art and Advocacy, Gilberto Rivera’s solo exhibition considers the material conditions of confinement and liberation. jail bird presents a series of mixed media collages that map prison cells onto wooden panels, featuring a variety of birds.
Rivera, who himself was incarcerated for two decades, invoked the concept of recidivism and a derogatory term for people who habitually go to prison. He cited a cyclical immigration pattern that traps and sends people back to prison again and again. For example, the titles of the works “Jailbird #12” and “Jailbird #13” also reflect the dehumanization of the penal system, which refers to people by numbers rather than names.
Birds are often symbols of freedom due to their ability to fly, and the eagle holds a special status as a national symbol of American strength and pride. Poultry, on the other hand, are also kept in cages when domesticated or raised for consumption or commercial use, making these creatures a fitting representation of incarceration.
exist jail birdIn “Rivera,” Rivera presents parrots, herons, pelicans, pigeons, and other animals in an architectural setting filled with activist imagery. The walls of each cell are plastered with magazines, newspapers, protest signs, archival footage, and even snippets of text cut from Instagram stories, transforming the otherwise austere concrete and steel environment into a space of possibility.
For many within it, world-building of the kind imagined by artists is a necessary act of survival. Books, magazines and other materials are often passed from one person to another, and the images displayed inside the cells contrast sharply with the drab interior. For Rivera, liberation is rooted in this act of creation and in the material conditions that structure our lives, both internally and externally. Through his layered printed paintings, he envisions the possibilities of imagination within a limited scope and the fundamental need to create the world we want to live in.
jail birdRivera’s first solo exhibition will be on view in Brooklyn through February 15th. Learn more about the artist on Instagram.
