Reflecting on her body of works incorporating manipulated bird cages, Gomes has expressed: “The cage, for example, is a form of release. . . . Aesthetically, the cage is a wonderful object, but its function is to imprison. A cage with nothing inside it is a beautiful thing. It's an empty place. So I open the cage wider, and that's the first thing I do: I twist the entire thing, open it, and transform the cage into a cozy place. The cage as a nest. There's another nest that I call a crib. The nest is a crib and vice-versa. I don't remember if I had a crib. I remember having a bed, but I don't remember a crib. The crib, just like the nest, shelters the being in its most fragile state, protecting it. They are places, habitats.”