Del Rio

Del Rio is a polyptych created from objects and images taken between Del Rio, Texas, and Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, after between 12,000 to 15,000 people, mainly from Haiti, attempted to enter the U.S. by crossing the Rio Grande River near Del Río–Ciudad Acuña International Bridge in the fall of 2021. The images of built and natural environments convey double meanings, such as flood, safety colors, pipelines, and attention bubbles. A man in a white shirt hides on an animal trail; bullets are found in the desert; a hyper-color place marker is nailed to the ground.

The photo collages incorporate a collection of objects found at the border, archival material, and original photographs in response to questions of media exploitation of the ongoing migrant issue and political reaction to this particular inflection point. The collages shift away from sensational images of people in distress experiencing the worst moment of a necessary journey. I wanted to show less obvious but still confusing and complicated dimensions.

Read as visual puns or double-meanings, the images reinforce the absurdity of public interpretation of a place and moment they did not themselves experience. This series experimented with themes familiar to people whose lives or aspirations are integrated with the U.S. border and, more specifically, a handful of border counties in Texas.

The idea was to invert and soften ever-hardening narratives. Continuing the series into 2023 allowed for a response to the increased deployment of new surveillance and military technology in the region, the realities of a fluid water border, and the ongoing presence of violence.

All images: Kendra Jones