migrating the fire next time
Migrating the Fire Next Time, 95 x 70 x 6” , acrylic, grandmother’s pillow case, fabric, jewels, cotton, embroidery floss, burlap,
spray paint, acrylic skin, wood, jean, curtain, feather, leather, oil pastel on tarp, 2026
About
Migrating the Fire Next Time examines Black migration not as a journey toward freedom, but as an ongoing practice of carrying freedom through hostile terrain. Drawing together Isabel de Olvera, the Great Migration, Hurricane Katrina, Haitian pilgrimage traditions, and personal relocation, the work asks what Black people carry when movement becomes a condition of survival. Against the backdrop of a burning house, figures gather resources, seek healing, witness destruction, and move forward, revealing that the promises attached to new frontiers have always existed alongside the anticipation of struggle.
Coordinates / References
“Remember that: I know black it looks today for you. It looked bad that day, too, yes, we were trembling. We have not stopped trembling yet, but if we had not loved each other, none of us would have survived. And now you must survive because we love you, and for the sake of your children and your children’s children.”
~ James Baldwin, “The Fire Next Time”