The work 'Resurrection of the Wild Flowers (A Void Fill Machine)' (2021) from ‘Yto Barrada: Ways to Baffle the Wind’ was imagined in the long summer months of 2020 and 2021. The beauty of a void-fill machine is that it is always changing for the times. This summer, hot and harrowing as it is, we understand it differently. And we think it is enough to say, Dick Uilhlein, owner of the packing company and mega-donor to a MAGA-world, that we hope yours lasts longer than six hours and then eventually breaks in the middle, to be taken up by the hands of an artist who turns it and molds it, filling every cranny of a crab pot, until it spills out on to the gallery floor, having become something else entirely. From an empire of control and through the alchemy of art, this paper snake carries allegories and mythologies old and new (Icarus, Pandora, Medusa) and is still growing. We also encourage everyone in our community to finally make the change. Art labor does not need to fuel anti-democratic movements, voter suppression, or anti-abortion legislation. For a list of alternative packing and shipping supply companies – visit @refuseuline 'Yto Barrada: Ways to Baffle the Wind' is currently on view at Mass MoCA @massmoca until May 29, 2023. VIDEO: Barrada, 'Resurrection of the Wild Flowers (A Void Fill Machine)' 2021, void fill and crab pot, courtesy of the artist and Pace Gallery. @ytobarrada @followriversinstitute @refuseuline @pacegallery #ytobarrada #waystobafflethewind #refuseuline #followriversinstitute #pacegallery