Personal Objects of Migration

Personal Objects of Migration

Read Introduction

15 miles north of the United States-Mexico border, a thin man is hunched beneath a hackberry bush in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. He is alone in a barren wilderness, disoriented. After walking for days with a group of ten strangers attempting to make their way from Mexico to the United States, the thin man lay down and fell asleep in the shade of a thorny bush.

When he awoke, the sun was high and the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen. He crawled out from under the bush and called out, with no response. He began walking in the direction he believed the rest of his group had gone. After trying to journey further on foot beneath the beating sun, he was no longer able to continue and found an Ironwood tree to huddle beneath and waited. He waited eight hours until members of a humanitarian group found him faint and dehydrated.

Dressed in worn clothes, with swollen feet and tight shoes, thousands of people attempt to make their way on foot through the desert, carrying with them only what is most critical to complete their journey. These are the personal possessions people have left behind while attempting to make their way from Mexico, across the border to the United States.

These objects represent the danger, courage, and day-to-day struggles of thousands of men, women, and children traveling through this deadly corridor.

 
 
Baby Bottle.jpeg
 
 
 
MM20 Catalog42.jpg
 
Child Sock.jpeg
 
 

Seeking a better life, men, women and children attempt to make their way through the Sonoran Desert, across the border on foot, carrying only what is most essential.

A sneaker wrapped in cloth to disguise footprints.

A sneaker wrapped in cloth to disguise footprints.

Cellphone
Phonebook.jpg
 
Anti-Inflammatory Pain Medication
 
 
Nail Clipper
 
MM20+Catalog28.jpg
 
MM20%2BCatalog27.jpg
MM20 Catalog47.jpg
 
Perfume Bottle.jpeg
Cologne.jpeg
 
 
Foot Powder.jpeg
Toothbrush & Toothpaste.jpeg
 
 
Matches.jpeg
MM20+Catalog49.jpg
 
MM20 Catalog50.jpg
 
Handcuffs.jpeg
 
 
 
Plastic water jug wrapped in denim to prevent water from over-heating.

Plastic water jug wrapped in denim to prevent water from over-heating.

 
 
Belt with shovel and bottle for water.

Belt with shovel and bottle for water.

 
 
Cutlery 5pc.jpeg
 
 
Garlic.jpeg
 
 
Tuna+Can.jpg
 
 
Sardine Can.jpeg
Jumex Juice.jpeg
 
Playing+Cards+Fan.jpg
 
 
MM20 Catalog53.jpg
 
 
MM20 Catalog52.jpg
 
 
My+First+Communion+Book.jpg
MM20%252BCatalog55.jpg
 
MM20 Catalog54.jpg
 
 
Understand and Improve the Mind Book.jpeg
 
Dora Backpack.jpeg
Stuffed Animal Front.jpeg
 
Blanket.jpeg
 
 

This exhibition was organized in collaboration with Deborah McCullough



Email us with any questions or comments about this exhibition.

This exhibition and many more are in the Mmuseumm 2020 Jumbo Catalog available for purchase at store.mmuseumm.com

Mmuseumm is a non-profit project dedicated to helping people see the world we are living in through physical evidence. Support Mmuseumm by making a tax-deductible donation at Fractured Atlas 501(c)(3)