Thesis 2026/ Graciela DeAnda

This installation centers on the lived experiences of immigrants crossing the Mexican border, focusing on the emotional, physical, and psychological realities of the journey. The work examines what is carried, what is left behind, and what is endured in pursuit of a different life. It builds from my ongoing practice of storytelling through material, space, and sensory engagement, while marking a shift toward a more immersive, embodied environment grounded in collaboration and lived experience.

The installation operates as a constructed narrative space composed of sculptural and sensory elements. Two black silhouettes, a man with a backpack and cap, and a woman with a child, move through the space as shadow-like forms, suggesting presence while emphasizing anonymity and invisibility. At the center is a dome constructed from wood, mud, chicken wire, burlap, and tree branches, informing concealed shelters used while crossing the border. The dome functions as both refuge and confinement, situating the viewer within a space of vulnerability and survival. Inside, a layered soundscape begins with my father’s voice recounting his journey, transitions through helicopters, radio chatter, footsteps, and environmental sounds; and concludes with my mother singing an alabanza, a prayer, reflecting the emotional and temporal arc of the experience.

A twelve-foot wall made of cornhusks spans the space, referencing the human body through variation in tone, texture, and condition. This element became a site of collaboration with my mother, transforming the act of making into one of repair and reconstruction. Above the wall are four altered backpacks collected from participants. These backpacks have been cut open and transformed into intimate, memory-centered spaces. Inside each, I constructed a shelf using thin plywood, covered with fabric from clothing worn when arriving in the United States or materials resembling childhood bedding. These spaces contain personal objects, bandages, Vicks VapoRub, rosaries, photographs, toys, and belongings carried during the journey, grounding the work in lived experience.

This work represents both a continuation and a departure from my previous installations. While my practice has consistently engaged memory, identity, and collaboration, this project expands those concerns into a fully immersive environment. Following feedback from my second committee meeting, I shifted from presenting discrete elements to constructing a cohesive spatial experience in which material, sound, and movement function together. The audience is invited to move slowly through the space, encountering fragments that encourage reflection rather than a singular narrative.

Ultimately, this installation is about bearing witness. It asks what it means to carry a life while crossing the border, and how those experiences can be honored, remembered, and felt within a shared space.

Website: https://gdeanda.myportfolio.com

Instagram: gracieladeanda23