Borderlands
Photo: Olly Yung. © 2019 Matrons & Mistresses.
Border Wall, Progreso TX 2012
susan harbage page
Gallery Information:
gregg museum of art & design
on Display:
February 7th - july 28th
hours:
tu-sa: 10am - 5pm
su: 1pm - 5pm
admission:
Free
From more than a thousand artifacts and thirty thousand photographic images collected over ten years came one hundred and eleven objects and twenty-one photos… mindfully curated to paint the picture of life… of hope.. and of struggle.
Items left behind while successfully crossing, forgotten while fleeing or hastily dropped when apprehended…
A discarded toothbrush— viewed by border patrol as a weapon.
Women’s underpinnings— a reminder of the rampant sexual abuse perpetrated against women while crossing. “For the question is almost always not whether they will be attacked but when… During the crossing, sex is either a price to be paid, a bargaining chip, or a liability— the locus of aggression, or a life-saving act” (Élisabeth Vallet, “Violent Borders,” quoted in the Borderlands catalog).
A belt (a possible noose), another clue that someone had been apprehended.
To see these items together… sweet shoes, makeup, a well-loved Bible… objects that de-objectify… landscape photos that portray humanity… an exhibit that speaks of the border and serves as a bridge.
Gallery view, Borderlands
Susan Harbage Page
Photo: Olly Yung. © 2019 Matrons & Mistresses.
found objects
susan harbage page
Photo: Olly Yung. © 2019 Matrons & Mistresses.
gallery view, borderlands
Susan harbage page
Photo: Olly Yung. © 2019 Matrons & Mistresses.
FOUND OBJECTS
SUSAN HARBAGE PAGE
Photo: Olly Yung. © 2019 Matrons & Mistresses.
FOUND OBJECTS
SUSAN HARBAGE PAGE
Photo: Olly Yung. © 2019 Matrons & Mistresses.