“The Wall” investigates current global migration situation and human conditions through gestures and symbols. I use shredded paper to build a rectangle on floor. I fish on shredded paper while my performance partner is giving a speech about wall in relation to immigration and borders. When my partner is giving her speech, I fish silently, sometimes tapping on floor heavily to respond her speech. When she pauses for her speech, I lift the fish rod and read out loud what I have caught. We also invite audiences to come to the podium to give their own thoughts about the wall. At the entrance of the space, there is a desk where I turn on a light on/off while stamping ENTRY/NO on paper consistently.

When we talk about walls in relation to human migration and border, we often think about physical walls, such as walls between USA and Mexico border or The Berlin Wall. However, what really stop people to cross a country’s border is not only a physical wall, but also an invisible one – paper –  immigration/ refugee policies, regulation, rules, and laws from the county. This invisible wall is can be as strong as wall and as high as sky. The shredded paper is a destroyed wall and an evidence of unsustainable civilization.  I use fishing shredded paper as a method of political investigation and inquiry. Sitting in front of a large pile of destroyed paper, I investigate our current political situation and examine our own human conditions, and then I present my results of investigation with the form of public speeches.

This performance seeks intersections created by experiences of immigration and globalization. it raises awareness of our current global migration crisis, looking beyond national border and our shared responsibilities as citizen of the world, and how we continue to see ourselves in each other, and how we create a space that is grounded in inclusiveness and respect for dignity and freedom we all deserve.

Performed by Elizabeth Ross
Photo credit: El Muro Diego Mateos