Brooklyn artist Duke Riley made an unconventional, and possibly illegal, artistic statement, when, over the course of four years, he trained pigeons to smuggle Cuban cigars between Havana and Key West. “Trading With the Enemy,” which debuts as part of his show, “See You at the Finish Line,” features the pigeons who partook in the possible infraction of the long-standing embargo with Cuba, as well as portraits by Riley and video footage of their journey, taken by the birds themselves.

Riley tips his hat to the long history of illegal trafficking across the nation’s southern border with the names of the avian additions to the smuggler’s club: Pablo Escobar, Pierre Lafitt, and Minnie Burr. He also pokes fun at the legality of the piece with the names of the aerial videographers: Roman Polanski and Mel Gibson, directors who are, at times, more famous for their legal indiscretions than their films. The piece also has a political aspect to it. Riley envisioned his work as a way to undermine the complex system of spy devices that may monitor our coasts. “I wanted to subvert this billions-of-dollars high-tech system with things that were being used in ancient Sumeria,” said Mr. Riley. “See You at the Finish Line” opens at the Magnan Metz Gallery on November first.