A day after US Attorney General announced that the federal government had rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program – which has shielded nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation – French artist JR and a team of volunteers began installing a powerful large-scale piece on the US-Mexico border. JR, who is known for his lofty photo installations, featured a young boy peering over the already existing border wall.
For some, the piece represents the families broken up by the border. For others, the installation deconstructs the border, showing that something that is so contentious is insignificant. It’s not only see-through but also dwarfed by the image of this young boy. What’s clear is that the piece is up for interpretation.
To JR, he hasn’t exactly worked out what the installation means, according to the Huffington Post. But the image came to him in a dream. He did say that the image is “a continuation” of the InsideOut 11M project, that he helped start. InsideOut 11M, which takes its name from the estimated number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, that aims to create “a portrait of America that includes immigrants and the descendants of immigrants alike.”
Today, JR will be in LA to discuss the work and why he highlights immigration in his work.