Fences & Neighbors was also inspired by the reality of migrants’ experiences at the U.S./Mexico border. I arrived at the border accompanied by a delegation of artists from the Tucson Arts Brigade and the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture.

We crossed into Mexico and visited the Kino Border Initiative nestled into the Mexican side of the border. Food, first aid and prayer are offered by KBI to migrants trying to cross into the U.S. and to returning deportees. Made from surplus steel from runways in Iraq, the fence separating Nogales, Arizona, US from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico reaches to the sky. For me, this fence represents the disturbing barriers erected between people.