A supersized art installation was unveiled at the U.S. and Mexico border by a street artist making a larger than life statement about immigration.
Nearly 70 feet tall, the image of a small boy peering over the edge of the border wall rises up on the Mexican side of the fence, installed by an artist who is neither Mexican nor American.
The artist known by the pseudonym “JR” is from France.
Earlier this week, he tweeted a video and an image of his work in progress in Tecate, Mexico, at the barrier wall bordering San Diego County.
Work in progress on the Mexican side of the US/MEXICO border pic.twitter.com/1rb7zG7148
— JR (@JRart) September 6, 2017
The oversized image is based on his photo of a 1-year-old boy who lives with his mother and grandparents in Tecate, according to The New York Times.
Art project now at the US/MEXICAN border ? pic.twitter.com/fQSspJ9cRc
— JR (@JRart) September 5, 2017
The unveiling of the piece came just days after President Trump announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era policy that protected illegal immigrants who entered the US as children from being deported.
Meet Kikito, he turned 1 year old last April. The piece is visible close to the Tecate border for a month pic.twitter.com/xfDBzQ1DYV
— JR (@JRart) September 7, 2017
JR’s art installation was reportedly not meant as a response to the president’s action, though its timing was certainly interesting.
The French artist revealed that the idea came to him in a dream.
“Some people dream about fantasy worlds, I dream about walls,” he told the Times.
“I wonder, is this kid worrying about what will happen? What does he think?” JR, nicknamed “the French Banksy”, said. “At one year old, you don’t see the frontier or which side is better.”
JR became known for pasting larger than life images of friends on walls in the Paris suburb where his career started, according to Mashable. He gained international attention with his portraits from the 2015 Paris riots.
Lax borders and immigration policies have not exactly been working well for Europeans but they apparently find it necessary to lecture the U.S.
Concert to protest border wall FLOPS when patriotic Americans show up and make some noise of their own https://t.co/OVsQs5KDZE pic.twitter.com/4uP6GpZdZT
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) June 8, 2017
A socialist orchestra from Germany planned a concert at the US -Mexico border in June to protest President Trump’s wall. They were brilliantly trolled by Trump-supporters, however, who loudly played patriotic music on the US side.
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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