Yes/No, 2021
Downtown Coral Gables

Antonia Wright + Ruben Millares

At this historic moment where our country has erupted protesting racial injustice, the image of the barricade has become ubiquitous on our streets. Previously an innocuous symbol demarcating “no access,” barricades were mainly associated with providing safety and crowd control at celebratory events like parades, or creating a queue for sporting and music events. In the current political environment in the U.S. where the right to a peaceful protest is being threatened, we believe a metal barrier conjures anxiety and is used as architecture to separate and control bodies in public space.

Using barricades as a symbol of our global climate of resistance, we offer our new work, a site-specific sculptural light installation entitled Yes/No. By lighting the barricades being used by the Illuminate exhibition throughout Coral Gables, we aim to highlight the ubiquitous nature of these objects and their ambiguous intent to protect and control. By transforming a utilitarian object into a light work, the glowing objects will create a line throughout the streets of the city, evoking the divide and connection between our bodies.