Place for a Body

In the installation, birdcages are transformed into nests and attached to a tree. Symbols of imprisonment and contention, here the cages are not only open and distorted, but actually become cosy passerine dwellings. Sonia Gomes’ art consists of knotted, twisted textiles, trusses, baskets, books, gloves, drawings, sculptures and installations in which fabric is the main material. Assorted textures and materials are rolled, darned, tied and stuffed to confer movement and depth to the work.
In Lugar para um Corpo, her work acquires a new element through direct contact with nature. The cages are tied to the tree with strings, knots and embroidery, becoming handmade nests that run the tree and that action into something sacrosanct. If her work as a whole seems to derive from ancestral cultures and traditions, this installation evokes a female bird spirit, shaping her nest with her own breast and building her shelter from the inside out.