The issue of immigration is one that has been in the news over the past months concerning the treatment of migrants in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centres, with families being separated. Some Americans have even decried the detention centres as similar to concentration camps, condemning their current administration’s immigration policies.
The border between Mexico and the US has become a defining element of Donald Trump’s presidency, which of course means that cultural critique will follow. A recent interactive art installation at the border has served to provide thoughtful insight on the impact of borders and and border policy, as well as serve as a means to foster unity between two populations divided by a heavy duty fence.
Pink seesaws have been installed at the border near El Paso in Texas and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, the brainchild of professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkley, Ronald Rael, and associate professor of design at San José State University Virginia San Fratello. The two came up with the concept ten years ago and have recently set up the project, which has been used by adults and children on both sides of the border.
Writing in a popular post on Instagram, Rael explained that the purpose of the Teetertotter Wall was to recognise that “actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side,” as well as provide the border with an event of “joy, excitement, and togetherness.”
