In many ways, the issue’s confrontational cover needs no explanation: Lady Liberty is dead. But when AiA sat down with artist Puppies Puppies (Jadeguanaro Kuriki-Olivo) to talk about her sculptures Liberté MorteIn 2025, she shared an inspiring story about how this work expanded her lexicon lineage.
In 2016, I had a solo exhibition in Paris and decided to think about the exchange that took place between France and the United States. I worked at Liberty Tax and people would stand outside in Statue of Liberty costumes holding signs. for freedom (freedom)In 2017, I performed the statue and then re-enacted it in the outdoor area of the museum for the 2017 Whitney Biennial. I do a lot of shows in public spaces that stem from my experience as a mascot in high school.
I have also been working around green for many years. This interest stemmed from me thinking it was my mom’s favorite color, but then I found out it actually wasn’t. Nonetheless, I started thinking about nature and started seeing green as a color that is everywhere. I also wanted to reduce the painting to its simplest form and start mixing colors. Blue and yellow make up green, a combination that represents everything from happiness to depression, from the sun to the sky. It has a lot of connotations that I can use to figure out aesthetic guidelines, which allows me to make future artistic decisions.
Puppies Puppies (Jade Guarnaro Kuriki-Olivo): Liberté Morte2025.
Photo Aurelien Mole/Courtesy of Balice Herdling, Paris
I started working on freedom (freedom) Since Trump is about to become president, I want to completely change this symbol of freedom, freedom, welcome and acceptance. I was wearing the exact same costume as the performers near the tourist ferry to the statue. It has a pendulous crown, which sums up the feeling of the symbol at the time. But despite declining sales, one may still read the work as a celebration. But for me, the comment comes from the way the costume makes the symbol fictional. It also touches on gender: lots of men performing near the ferry.
10 years have passed since the original performance, Liberté MorteI would like to revisit the statue and comment on what is going on now. It was once a symbol of welcoming people into the country. I wanted to get a very clear message across – using loaded signifiers can be a great way to reach a larger audience because everyone can relate to them. I have used skeletons in my work before. To me, they are a way of showing the human body in its most basic form.
Then I thought about how to continue the conversation with my own history and the history of the country I live in. I immediately imagined a skeleton encased in ice—frozen freedom2026, p. 17. 45 – to demonstrate the devastation caused by global warming, but also to recall how the symbol of ice has been subverted, with ice constantly attacking humans. Feeling the need to make a statement. I’ve been thinking about what Nina Simone said – “The artist’s duty… is to reflect the times” – and I agree.
