Firelei Báez: Reclaiming Identity, Borders, and History

You, my country and my border
2018
Oil on canvas
182.9 x 177.8 x 5.1 cm/72 x 70 x 2 in
©Firelei Báez. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

A daughter of Hispaniola, the child of a Dominican mother and Haitian father, Firelei Báez’s formative years were full of dichotomies determined by the politics of place and peoplehood. Dominican-born, New York–raised multimedia artist Báez merges representational emblems—hair textures, textile patterns, botanical imagery, folklore and mythical creatures, literature, and symbols of resilience and defiance—powerful female characters (such as ciguapas) that draw from community-specific mythological, cosmological, and ritual practice, and elements of science fiction and fantasy. Through this amalgamation, Báez portrays identities as fluid and narratives in states of flux. She creates a visual rhetoric of existence that historiography and cartography failed to provide. 

Focusing on portraiture and landscape, Báez, who earned a BFA from Cooper Union and an MFA from Hunter College, deeply understands how to use art and creolized forms to ascend above displacement. For her, art acts as an extensive buffer to the prevailing limitations that ancestral and environmental tensions cause within the Caribbean island.

Báez bridges vibrant subjects and intentionally opaque subject matter within the intersection of history, heritage, and humanity. Her exuberant paintings—imaginative dreamscapes and tangible landscapes in their own right—transform diasporic histories into something new. Reworking visual references that draw from the past to explore new possibilities for the future, Báez carves a space for diasporic identity that previous art histories ignored. Her work carries the disorienting and radical capacity to upend the order of the old dominant with regenerative processes key to existential freedom.

Take You, my country, and my border (2018). With a colorful permeation of borders and borderlessness, the work looks at the correlation between conquest and a woman’s body as used to buttress colonialism throughout history. By foregrounding themes of body, landscape, history, and identity, Báez’s work invites viewers on a journey through the depths of Caribbean consciousness, where the seen and unseen intersect in profound and unexpected ways. As we navigate through the liminal spaces of diaspora, displacement, and cultural hybridity, her work reminds us of the resilience and healing creativity of the diaspora in the face of historical and contemporary challenges. 

Much of Báez’s work is an optical sleight of hand, discerning between the interplay of what we see and what we have at our disposal to leverage. Her work also considers the dualism of isolation and connectivity—deciphering the asundering man-made (infra)structures that divide geographies by borders, language and honoring the fundamental connective tissue of spirituality and cosmology, iconography, food, material culture, and bodies of water. 

Viewers experience You, my country, and my border before conceptualizing it. At the forefront of the painting is the representation of borders, depicted as intertwined with a woman's body. This imagery serves as a potent commentary on how the powers that be impose boundaries upon individuals, particularly women, and how these borders can be both physical and metaphorical. Moreover, Báez confronts the colonial legacy of conquest, highlighting the historical exploitation of women's bodies as tools of oppression and domination.

With a terrestrial color palette, this piece gives the semblance of an ecosystem, with the blue-green colexification representing where bodies of water (blue) meet land and vegetation (green). Further, the color blue conjures images of the Virgin Mary and the revered deities of the sea such as Yemaya. Báez's hues allude to Yemaya and the myth of Drexciya, which posits that the unborn children of African women thrown overboard during the transatlantic slave trade now populate an underwater world. This myth intertwines with the symbolism of Yemaya, the goddess of the ocean, whose presence during the Middle Passage witnessed the displacement and demise of those cast overboard. Through Báez's artwork, we can assess the constant presence of these divine figures throughout this harrowing history. The shapeless permeations of color that exceed the discernable female figure add to the obscurity. However, in the spirit of Eduoard Glissant, this opacity doesn’t irrevocably lead to exclusion; it is a necessary and protective enclosure. 

Although the figure lacks eyes, the presence of a gaze is unmistakable. At the core of the painting lies a critique of the white gaze, which often essentializes ethnic peoples as being intrinsically connected to the land while imposing reductive stereotypes onto Black bodies. Báez confronts the perception of museums and galleries as elitist "ivory towers," instead advocating for art that engages with and reflects the diverse experiences of marginalized communities. Historically, the erasure of Black bodies confined them to the oppressive fantasies and nightmares of their oppressors. However, this artwork suggests a shift: Through strategies of subterfuge and mimicry, it asserts an intentional refusal to be reductively consumed by depraved minds or so-called color-blind eyes.

Be it the semblance of a tignon, a colonial legislation that mandated that women of color in 18th-century New Orleans wear head coverings, or the regal and staged posture, Báez’s technique conveys seemingly subtle forces in the female figure’s body with movement. Moving beyond the physical realm, Báez delves into the metaphysical, evoking universes, galaxies, and interplanetary movements. Through the portrayal of particles and fields, she captures the inherent complexity and interconnectedness of existence, hinting at the divine and the potential for transformation. In this case, there are dots, swirls, and lines that lend themselves to being points, particles, and flows. In physics, points become fields and fields become flows. Particles and waves characterize electric potential and light. These interrelated elements of the artwork also resemble galaxies and ignite interplanetary imaginations. 

The body here serves as a motif, symbolizing both individual and collective experiences of terrestrial identity and extraterrestrial belonging. Báez delves into the intricacies of corporeal existence, exploring how bodies contain histories of colonization, resistance, and resilience. Through a juxtaposition of physical and metaphysical landscapes, Báez’s work challenges viewers to confront the legacies of colonialism and the ongoing struggles for self-determination and cultural autonomy. By redefining traditional notions of identity and belonging, You, my country, and my border invites viewers to reimagine the boundaries of cultural identity and the fluidity of diasporic experiences.

Baez's artistic narrative transcends the confines of traditional representation, diving into the intricacies of human existence and ecosystems, weaving threads of body, landscape, history, and identity. With each brushstroke and symbolic gesture, Baez navigates the liminal spaces where cultural identities intersect, inviting viewers on a journey of exploration through the complex terrain of the human experience.

Through the incorporation of nautical vestiges and references to the Black Atlantic, Báez explores the complex relationships between land, bodies, and cultural heritage. The canvas itself exudes a sense of serenity, with calm colors and serene compositions. However, beneath the surface lies a commotion of textures, patterns, and tensions. The artwork dances between beauty and violence, masking underlying power dynamics and struggle. 

You, my country, and my border also confront the ecological crises facing the Caribbean region, from man-made disasters to the impacts of climate change. This evocative artwork bears witness to the environmental devastation that colonialism and globalization wrought. By foregrounding the interconnectedness of human and nonhuman worlds, Báez’s practice highlights the urgent need to contemplate environmental justice and sustainable development in the Caribbean and beyond. Through a blend of cosmic and aquatic imagery, the artwork invites viewers to contemplate their relationship to the natural world and their role in shaping its future. This masterful synthesis and navigation of the eco-diversity and biodiversity of environs and the complexities of identity, challenges and invites viewers to reassess what being in and belonging to a world susceptible to transcendental transformation.

Her familiarity with this form of bricolage has granted her the authority to reconstruct the traditional canon of themes and derived works that have supposedly stood the test of time because of some predetermined inherent qualities by the self-serving elite. Nothing drives home the point of exorcizing colonial filth through artistic exercise more than Temple of Time (2020). 

Untitled (Temple of Time)

2020

Oil and acrylic on printed canvas

240 x 336.2 x 4 cm / 94 1/2 x 132 3/8 x1 5/8 in

Photo: Phoebe d'Heurle
©Firelei Báez. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

This vibrant palimpsest is an explicit refutation to time and space as strategically forced to be universally accepted in Emma Willard’s Willard’s Map of Time/The Temple of Time (1846). At the heart of Báez's exploration lies the realization of borders and borderlessness, echoing the fluidity and expansiveness inherent in the human condition. She challenges viewers to reconsider conventional boundaries, whether physical, cultural, or psychological, encouraging them to contemplate how diasporic narratives and inherited memories of home and heritage shape individual and collective identities. By engaging in the act of perception, Báez carries the viewer's experiences of subversion beyond what we see at face value. Understanding this abstract expressionist work with the necessary context provides a power of multifaceted overlay and opacity. 

Ferociously, Báez dispels presuppositions and presumptions of universal time and space as measured vertically in the West, whereas outside of that and within the diaspora, spatiotemporality is multidirectional. This expressive explosion is, as writer and curator Grace Ebert writes, what Báez “refers to as ‘the mirage,’ the place where the colonial narratives that tangle fact and fiction begin to unravel.”

In this artwork, Báez combines vivid slashes and artistic strokes atop a timeline in Emma Willard’s The Temple of Time (1846), reshaping its narrative. Willard, an advocate for women's rights and education in the United States, authored numerous history and geography textbooks. Within this original document, Willard offered a fresh interpretation of time across various dimensions, depicting nations ethnographically and chronographically to encapsulate a comprehensive history of knowledge's evolution. Inspired by elements of science fiction, Báez utilizes her brushwork to disrupt the map's unconventional portrayal of time, exploring its relationship with space, significant eras, and influential figures. By injecting vibrant ruptures into its structure, Báez challenges linear and simplistic interpretations of the past, paving the way for novel prospects in the future.

The symbiotic dance between visual arts and literary text in Báez's work enriches her narrative by seamlessly blending two powerful mediums. Through this fusion, Báez creates a dynamic interplay where images and words converge, amplifying the depth and complexity of her storytelling. In Báez's pieces, visual elements serve as potent symbols and metaphors, imbued with layers of meaning. Each brushstroke or composition choice becomes a language in itself, speaking volumes about the artist's intentions and the message she seeks to convey. These visual cues often draw inspiration from historical texts, cultural symbols, and personal experiences, weaving together a tapestry of visual storytelling that invites viewers to engage with the work on multiple levels.

Simultaneously, Báez incorporates literary texts or references within her artworks, whether through direct quotations, subtle allusions, or symbolic gestures. These textual elements act as anchors, grounding the viewer in a specific narrative or thematic context while also opening up avenues for interpretation and exploration.

Furthermore, the fusion of visual arts and literary text in Báez's work allows for a nuanced examination of identity, history, and cultural memory. By intertwining visual and textual narratives, she brings to light the complexities of these themes, inviting viewers to interrogate their perspectives and assumptions. In doing so, Báez challenges conventional confinements between art forms, pushing the boundaries of storytelling and inviting viewers to participate in a rich and immersive narrative experience.

Báez continues to reimagine cartography and excursion plans with motif fabulation. Her interrogation of racist narratives hidden under the veil of objective knowledge creation rehabilitates the practice while giving precedence to Afro-diasporic subject matter. In her series of map paintings, Báez overpaints travelogs, manuals, and guides to call into question the authority previous white historiographers and cartographers wanted us to assume was exclusive to them.

Untitled (Map of the British Empire in America)

2021

Oil and acrylic on printed canvas

245.9 x 335.8 x 4 cm / 96 3/4 x 132 1/4 x 1 5/8 in

©Firelei Báez. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

During the medieval period, there were no standardized cartographic techniques or conventions. As a result, maps like the Psalter World Map vary widely in style, content, and accuracy. This makes it challenging for modern historians to interpret them accurately. The Psalter is inside the British Library in Europe, the region that positions itself as the custodian of the historical, educational, and cultural legacy of humanity. The Psalter World Map, also known as the "Map of Psalter," is a Mappa Mundi medieval map that dates back to around the 13th century. While it is a significant historical artifact and provides insight into medieval European cartography and worldview, it has several problematic aspects. To start, viewers will note the dragons holding the globe up at the bottom, the positions of the great lights (sun and moon) and where light is absent, and the odd figures depicted nearest to Africa. Training your neck to the edge of the map, you will see figures whose faces are where their chest would be. 

The Psalter World Map, like many medieval maps, was not created using scientific methods or empirical observation. Instead, it relied heavily on religious beliefs, classical texts, and oral traditions which toyed with the nightmare-fantasy of colonizers. This lack of empirical data often resulted in inaccuracies and fantastical elements. Like many medieval maps, the Psalter World Map is Eurocentric, with Jerusalem placed at the center—closest to Jesus. Depicted above the terrain, Jesus sits in the east unlike the contemporary reading of maps. This reflects the religious and cultural biases of the time, where Jerusalem held immense significance in Christian theology. The Psalter World Map suffers from inaccuracies in geography. Many regions are distorted or misshapen, and the scale is often inconsistent. 

Rather than being rooted in objective geographical knowledge—for instance, with north at the top—this map explicitly depicts Christian stories and salvation, with other regions represented incorrectly or ignored altogether. This reflects the limited geographical knowledge available to medieval cartographers and their reliance on myth, legend, and conjecture. The ensuing depiction of non-European regions on the Psalter World Map is rudimentary and based on hearsay rather than firsthand knowledge. All of which led to misrepresentations and stereotypes of non-European peoples and cultures as monstrosities or mutilated variants.

Lei Edmonds

Lei Edmonds is a passionate professional and intellectual of the heart contributing to the advancement and recognition of Caribbean art and culture in art history and beyond. As a multicultural woman and multidisciplinary scholar, her values and research interests intentionally center overlooked (his)stories. Her life’s work is to map intersectional presences and absences spatiotemporally in the Americas and to bring them into critical view. This continues to develop by creating and holding space for the multiplicity in her existence and hope that this inspires others to do the same.

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