“Earlier in May, a towering image of a jaguar suddenly rippled into view on the border wall straddling Nogales, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico. A striking Mexican wolf then shimmered in the big cat’s stead, followed by a brown bear, a pronghorn and a mountain lion.

This menagerie of animal projections reflect the iconic species that roam through the desert region—and are most at risk from the wall carved through it.”

“I would welcome you all to this installation, but what stands behind me is anything but welcoming.

My name is Lauren Strohacker and I am an eco-political artist. I was coined “eco-political” in 2017, after my first series of border wall projections in Douglas and Agua Prieta. Those projections were unihibited by razor wire and not so illuminated with high-pressure sodium lighting. They were striking, vivid, and crisp.

Tonight is a different story. We see an infinitely more complex image, animals competing with light and blade. As our eyes attempt to make sense of each animal, we remember this moment is not about beauty but dismay.

The further disintegration of image reflects heavily on the reality of this space. Tonight the militarized border wall disintegrates art and everyday this wall disintegrates cultures, relationships, habitats, and migration corridors. This disintegrates hope for a better future. The fading of these images is the fading of life itself.

I wish I could leave you with more hopeful words. But it’s not hope I’m after. It’s radicalization. Thank you. ”

“As the crowd watched the images, the air grew cool and dogs argued on the southern side of the wall. The border was quiet and still, and on the wall a jaguar stared out before fading from view like a ghost. ”