34″x16″x11″; woven plastic bags, mixed media; 2026; Courtesy of the artist.
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Elvira Clayton: Yearning to Breathe Free
at Open Source Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, USA
7 February-22 March 2026
“Yearning to Breathe Free” examines displacement through materials associated with migration, survival, and instability. Using the red, white, blue, and black woven plastic bags—often referred to as “refugee bags,” “Ghana-must-go bags,” “Turkish suitcases,” and “Chinatown totes”—along with tarps, Clayton works with objects embedded in global histories of movement and vulnerability.
These utilitarian materials, commonly used by migrants, refugees, and laborers, function as vessels for belongings, trauma, and memory. In Clayton’s Harlem community, immigrant street vendors frequently use them to transport goods to market. Tarps—materials of emergency and exposure—allude to fragile forms of shelter, offering partial protection that is both temporary and necessary for survival.
48″x22″x16″; woven plastic bags, mixed media; 2026; Courtesy of the artist.
By cutting them apart, Clayton deconstructs the bags and tarps, then reassembles the fragments into large-scale, totem-like sculptural weavings. The works are embellished with inexpensive articles—such as safety pins, pony beads, and found objects sourced from the “African Market,” dollar stores, beauty supply stores, and hardware shops in her Harlem neighborhood. These elements function as amulets and talismans, offering symbolic protection for communities rendered vulnerable by displacement.
This program is supported, in part, by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
(text adapted from material provided by the gallery)
INFORMATION
Open Source Gallery
306 17th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215 USA
(646) 279-3969
Hours:
Thursday-Friday, 4PM-6PM
Saturday-Sunday, 2PM-6PM