One thousand, nine hundred and sixty-six Monarch butterflies overpower the confining Sliver Space at the Atlanta Contemporary for #ChingaLaMigra, an installation that invites the viewer to pause and hear the voices of those who have been harmed by Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center (SDC)—one of the largest and deadliest immigration detention centers in the country. It is operated by private prison company CoreCivic in contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has the capacity to cage 1,966 people.
Unlike the bright orange and yellow Monarch butterflies in my murals, the 1,966 Monarchs in #ChingaLaMigra are “in shadow,” individually water-colored in lightened tones and cut by hand to reflect the complexity and full humanity of each person who has survived SDC or continues to resist from within. The black butterflies represent those whose lives were lost within the confines of this facility.
The butterflies are tightly packed in the Sliver Space to personify immigration detention but can also be experienced as a unified, larger force—a collective power of strength and incredible resilience.
This installation is a collaboration with El Refugio.”
