US-Mexico Border Wall Seesaws ‘An Act of Activism’ by Architects

Agroup of architects have designed and placed three neon pink seesaws through the border wall between Mexico and United States in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and the outskirts of El Paso, Texas.

Ronald Rael, one of the architects and professors who worked on the seesaws, said the piece is a reflection on the relationship between the two countries.

“If you do something on one side, it will have an impact on the other side,” Mr Rael said.

“And that’s what happens politically between United States and Mexico. What they do there impacts here; what they do here, it will impact there — it’s the same with the seesaw.”

On Instagram, Mr Rael said the installation was “one of the most incredible experiences of my career”.

He was joined by fellow architect Virginia San Fratello in designing and executing the installation. “We are architects, we are designers, that’s all,” Mr Rael said.

“But this is an act of activism because we gather people here to have fun, to talk, to stay here in happiness.”

It’s not the first time artists have used the wall as a canvas. Artist Ana Teresa Fernandez and others

painted a section of the border fence in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico blue in 2015 so it would blend with the sky.

Two years ago, artists projected light features onto border wall prototypes south of San Diego.

And in 2017, a French artist erected a photo of a giant toddler peering over the wall near the Tacate, California, crossing.

Photos: AP People line up to play on seesaws mounted on the US/Mexico border fence in Juarez, Mexico on July 28, 2019. INSET: Members of the Mexican military police wearing the insignia of the new National Guard check children and people as they play seesaw on July 28, 2019.