United States of North America Passport: Installation and Live Performance
In 2009, Teaching Artist-in-Residence Erika Harrsch created United States of North America, an interactive installation whose centerpiece is a fictitious passport that joins the three continental NAFTA members—Canada, USA, and Mexico—under the emblem of the monarch butterfly and in a unified realm, absent of geopolitical borders. This piece expands boundaries, questions the concept of nations, reflects on the NAFTA treaty, and encourages conversations about immigration. The monarch butterfly, known for its migration between Canada and Mexico, symbolizes multi-national, multi-generational migrations that are becoming ever more frequent with the ease of constant mobility in today’s globalized world.
At the HRM, the artist will invite visitors to participate in the installation, where they will spin a wheel of fortune for the chance to win a prize: an original limited-edition passport—an ironic nod to lottery visas, the unpredictable nature of illegal entry into the United States, as well as the often illogical immigration policies of the US. To be held in the HRM Courtyard, where strict social distancing guidelines will be observed; masks are required.
This program is in conjunction with Border Cantos | Sonic Border: Richard Misrach | Guillermo Galindo, which is on view at the HRM through May 9, 2021.
Support provided by Art Bridges.
