Setting up the cardboard cutouts

At the end of the trip, after several practice runs and attempts to set-up the cardboard cutouts, we found a location that was perfect for the final set-up of my composition.

Location scouting

looking for locations in Rio Rico, AZ to set up my composition of cardboard cutouts was difficult because of the unpredictable rainfall.

Travel Caution

As we drove around a back road on a rainy afternoon in Rio Rico, AZ, we ventured into a campground with a Travel Caution sign that warned us of the activities in the area.

My amazing crew

I couldn't have made the trip and installed this project without my amazing crew.

In the desert, we are all small

My experiences observing the border crossing revealed to me the reasons why I wanted to take such a quiet, subtle route to address the issue in a creative manner.

The border crossing

Nogales, AZ and Nogales, Mexico were literally divided by this man-made border. 

A migrant's journey

As I traveled around the desert with friends and family who came to help me install my cardboard cutouts, we came upon the recurring scene of clothes, backpacks and other item's left behind by migrants on their journey.

Mother and Child test shot in the Arizona Desert

We set out on the trip to Rio Rico, AZ, an hour drive south of Tucson, AZ along the border with Nogales, Mexico. Upon arriving, I immediately set out to practice setting up the composition in the desert.

Mother and Child

This figure was the most important in the composition to convey the Mother's determination to see the journey through safely. Her body language is strong, standing tall and holding her child away from the solemn scene. It is her determination,in the face of unimaginable odds, that will keep the group going.

The pregnant woman

In the composition, I needed to express visually the generations that rest on the dangerous decision to cross the desert. A pregnant, migrant woman is not only carrying her immediate child, but also that of every subsequent generation stemming from her and hanging on the delicate balance of her survival.

Continuing the process

I added the second man holding a hat and looking away from the scene. His image was necessary to express the grief that comes with the loss of a loved one. He is purposely one of the outer most subjects in the composition, his body language was intended to express the need to get away from the reality before him.

Beginning the process of the cardboard cutouts

this was the first image in the composition that I began painting on cardboard.

Los Olvidados Sketch

"Los Olvidados" initial sketch. Bringing an idea to life.