Colibri Libre is a flock of four sculptures inhabiting the walkway outside the library building of The IMPLAN Institute in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico. The name most literally translates from Spanish to “freedom hummingbird.” The hummingbird is native to the region, known throughout for its energy and vigor. Aztecs believed the spirits of fallen warriors returned to Earth as hummingbirds due to the birds’ skill with their beaks as weapons. The hummingbirds in this case represent a different kind of warrior, one that wields knowledge, not swords, with equivalent strength and vivacity.
The statues are built from colored blown glass attached by metal joints. The transparency of the glass reflects the transparency of the institute in its relationship with the public. As a government agency that advises in strategic municipal development, the IMPLAN Institute highly values its relationship with the public. The luminous glass simultaneously reflects and transmits light; as light is an archetypal symbol of knowledge, this evokes the ideal of spreading and sharing information. Depending on the time of day and the weather, the amount and direction of light entering the sculptures changes the way the glass reflects and transmits color on the surrounding pathways, similar to the way the context of knowledge changes the effect it has on its surroundings.
Like the hummingbirds they are shaped as, the 80”x30” sculptures are mobile and can be relocated to other areas, including inside the building, using a relatively simple mechanism that can detach the piece from its base. In their current positions, they are visible from both outside and inside the library building, allowing the viewer the opportunity to discover the statue in different ways from multiple perspectives. Each time, the bright colors and playful positioning of the birds remind the viewer that there is joy in the journey, not just the end achievement, of the process of learning.