Bridge Art Fair Submission-BORDERLAND

Quick Description: Borderland
Detailed Description: My Borderland is the territory existing directly north of the US-Mexican border; a region of low-rise towns and deserts dotted with saguaro cacti and aluminum trailers. I set out to deconstruct the notion of the border region as merely a barrier between countries. Post - September 11th, America's consciousness has been underpinned by fear, a fear that leads to simple answers. In this work I identify small details, vignettes that challenge the viewer to imagine larger truths. Within the Borderland there are secondary boundaries, community divisions revealed in the saturated hues of Hispanic culture, contrasted by the muted tones of the Anglo world. Down south, the residue of history lies just beneath the surface. In places where the lingua franca is Spanish, enmity lingers over the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase. The past is omnipresent in small towns where the frontier traditions of guns and bibles reluctantly coexist with the Feast of Guadalupe and Dia de los Muertos. Nature informs my work as a rich backdrop against the intrusion of civilization. The colors of the earth are sandy brown, the skies deep blue and the plants a thirsty green. The desert is a wasteland of odd beauty. It is a place where almost everything man-made lies abandoned, and mines that were long ago drained of their precious minerals, remain as contaminated landscapes. In this environment, taquerias, dilapidated dwellings, RV parks and abandoned developments are all fighting to survive. The Borderland is the vernacular of the outsider, a visual folktale that mirrors a collective longing for home and cultural identity within a multicultural landscape.


Sister Maria, Palomas, AZ 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Robert "Lil' Dog" and Freckles, Campo, CA 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Housing Development, Calexico, CA 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Bit-O-Heaven Trailer Park, Donna, TX 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


First Baptist Church, St. David, AZ, 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Lent Crucifix, Elsa, TX 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Don Juan Motel, Calexico, CA 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Elotes La Rosita #2, San Elizario, TX, 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Thomas Carnival, Loredo, TX, 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Borderfest, Hildego, TX, 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Miguel's Malverde Ring, Mecca, CA 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Chelsea's Quinceanos, Los Indios, TX 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 53" x 40"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Feast of Guadalupe, Mecca, CA, 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 53" x 40"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Lay-up Site, Three Points, AZ, 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 53" x 40"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Family Cemetery, Old Military Highway, Brownsville, TX 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 53" x 40"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Border Patrol, All Terrain Vehicles, Laredo, TX, 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Check Point Highway 11, Columbus, NM 2008
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Detention Cell, Nogales, AZ, 2007
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Control Room, Nogales, AZ, 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print


Holding Cell, Nogales, AZ 2007
Edition of 7 1 AP
Dimensions: 40" x 53"; Medium: Archival Pigmented Ink Print