Unfragmenting/Des-Fragmentando
Through binational cultural engagement, ecological education, and digital projection, ecological artist Lauren Strohacker and collaborators confronted the multifaceted ecological effects of the border wall and envision removing barriers to ensure the survival of a wide diversity of species, including the iconic jaguar. Un-Fragmenting / Des-Fragmentando was a temporary public project made in collaboration with the Northern Jaguar Project (Tucson, AZ), Border Arts Corridor (Douglas, AZ), Casa de la Cultura (Agua Prieta, SON), Conciencia y Educación Ambiental (Hermosillo, SON) and with support of the U.S. Border Patrol.
This particular project received national attention, with a video feature in the New York Times and in USA Today’s The Wall documentary.
The northern jaguar travels from a breeding population in northeastern Sonora, defying the U.S.-Mexico border wall to re-establish territory in the American Southwest. The journey, however, is an imperiled one; the jaguar’s historic travel corridor is fragmented by human activity, border wall expansion, and anti-predator policies. Un-Fragmenting / Des-Fragmentando is an interdisciplinary intervention that transforms the U.S.-Mexico border wall from barrier to backdrop, projecting jaguar images and other wildlife images from the Northern Jaguar Reserve and neighboring Viviendo con Felinos ranches directly on the rusted iron construct.