Alfredo Jaar and the US-Mexico Border

Hearing about Francis Alÿs’s work about borders reminded me of a piece I heard about by social practitioner Alfredo Jaar. He sent balloons across the US-Mexico border as a monument to those who lost their lives in crossing. I heard the social artist Alfredo Jaar speak at a conference in New York about his work, and I found inspiring his commitment to memorializing those who are often overlooked.

Here’s part of his artist statement:
I created The Cloud as an ephemeral monument in the memory of those who lost their lives trying to cross the border. The Cloud lasted 45 minutes in which we offered a space and time of mourning. Music was played on both sides of the border, symbolically uniting a divided land and people. Poetry was read and a moment of silence was observed. Then the balloons were released. Contrary to normal wind conditions, the wind that morning took an unexpected turn and pushed the balloons towards Mexico. Catalina Enriquez, Felix Zavala, Guadalupe Romero, Trinidad Santiago, Aureliano Cabrera and the others went back home.