An Album: Sewing into Borderlines

Multimedia artist Kimsooja created this site-specific artwork for the Mariposa Land Port of Entry.  Filmed in Nogales in 2013, An Album: Sewing into Borderlines consists of silent video portraits of local residents shown in three different positions: facing towards the camera, facing away from the camera, and turning to look at the camera.  According to Kimsooja, these three distinctive postures represent the individuals’ journeys through their pasts, presents and futures.  The figures facing the camera suggest their arrivals, whereas those same figures facing away from the camera evoke their departures.  The subtle changes in their facial expressions hint at interior, psychological journeys.

Kimsooja conceived of this video as a group portrait of the current social and cultural landscapes of the United States, a country of immigrants.  As the artwork’s title suggests, this video album of portraits addresses many different types of borderlines: physical, psychological, geographical and cultural.  The artwork is located directly on the border between the United States and Mexico to further underscore these ideas.  Visitors crossing the border from Mexico to the United States who turn to look over their shoulders at the video will mimic the gestures of the figures on the screen, and perhaps be prompted to reflect on their own personal journeys.  By presenting real portraits of the people of Nogales, Kimsooja’s artwork bears witness to the many hopes, joys, desires, memories, challenges and destinies that constitute a vibrant society.