San Diego to Tijuana

Video / 03:00 min. / 2010

The short video 'San Diego to Tijuana' depicts the pedestrian passageway through the busiest border crossing in the world, San Ysidro. About 50,000 pedestrians (and still more vehicles) cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry every day. Most come to the United States to work or to shop, and those visiting Mexico cross the border to either visit or return home to family.

For most pedestrians, border crossings constitute a more banal, cumbersome reality marked by long lines and two-hour waits. Artist Mirelle Borra sees the border as a concrete symbol of global inequality: With few barriers, pedestrians cross from north to south casually, yet when heading in the opposite direction, they face elaborate security checks.

Mirelle Borra argues, “While capital, corporations and goods move freely between nations, people are increasingly contained within government-constructed separation barriers and militarized borders.” Her video is an understated study of the San Ysidro border that focuses on its architecture and keeps this global political situation hovering just outside the frame.

— Text from the Creative Time Report's website

My video contribution to the Creative Time Report's website: http://creativetimereports.org/author/mirelle-borra

The short video 'San Diego to Tijuana' depicts the pedestrian passageway through the busiest border crossing in the world, San Ysidro. About 50,000 pedestrians (and still more vehicles) cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry every day. Most come to the United States to work or to shop, and those visiting Mexico cross the border to either visit or return home to family.

For most pedestrians, border crossings constitute a more banal, cumbersome reality marked by long lines and two-hour waits. Artist Mirelle Borra sees the border as a concrete symbol of global inequality: With few barriers, pedestrians cross from north to south casually, yet when heading in the opposite direction, they face elaborate security checks.

Mirelle Borra argues, “While capital, corporations and goods move freely between nations, people are increasingly contained within government-constructed separation barriers and militarized borders.” Her video is an understated study of the San Ysidro border that focuses on its architecture and keeps this global political situation hovering just outside the frame.

— Text from the Creative Time Report's website

My video contribution to the Creative Time Report's website: http://creativetimereports.org/author/mirelle-borra