Alvaro Barrington

Wave Your Flags: Labor Day
September 5 - October 17, 2021
Much More Studio
Brooklyn, New York

Saint George Projects presents a solo exhibition by Alvaro Barrington, Wave Your Flags: Labor Day, a celebration of Caribbean Carnival culture. The presentation marks the third chapter of this group of paintings, and the first to focus on the Labor Day Parade — also known as the West Indian Day Parade — which takes place on Eastern Parkway, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Born in Venezuela and raised in Grenada and Brooklyn, Barrington’s relationship to the Caribbean is an amalgamation of romanticized memories from the island and the experiences he had growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in a neighborhood known as the “Little Caribbean.” Barrington cites Carnival as one of his most influential artistic experiences, particularly the uninhibited ways people move in space. He has approached his practice with a similar freedom and fluidity, centering context and community in his work.

Wave Your Flags: Labor Day features nearly 30 new paintings ranging in scale from intimate to monumental. Barrington reimagines national flags of Caribbean countries, employing the hibiscus flower — the national flower of Haiti — as a symbol of the region. Throughout his practice, Barrington has used the hibiscus flower to embody identity, nostalgia, sexuality and community.

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