In a documentary featuring artist Firelei Báez, the legacy of Carl Linnaeus's 18th-century taxonomy is examined, exposing its inherent racist hierarchies. Báez, based in New York and hailing from the Dominican Republic, subverts these outdated notions through her vibrant artwork, which transforms colonial maps and manuals into beautiful canvases. By highlighting figures like the ciguapa from Dominican folklore, she reframes narratives around culture and identity, compelling audiences to rethink the margins of historical classification systems and recognize beauty in the abject.
Firelei Báez's art challenges viewers to reconsider inherited systems of classification, particularly those rooted in race and colonialism, offering a reimagined narrative.
Báez transforms documents of colonial classification into vibrant canvases that celebrate beauty, suggesting a redefining of 'abject' themes commonly marginalized in art.
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