The reality of the border. “Between Worlds” by Kelly Santos Dassault

Through a series of large-format landscapes and intimate portraits, Santos Dassault explores the impact of migration on this unique place. His photographs are a meditation on the border as a physical space, as a concept and mythology.

The border is presented as a "non-place", a term created by French anthropologist Marc Augé, who defines these spaces, in this case, the border, as a transitory and liminal place, built on changing cultural identities and affiliations. The border is a place of anonymity and longing, challenging conceptions of national identity, citizenship, and belonging.


Unstoppable. “Between Worlds” by Kelly Santos Dassault. Photograph by Kelly Santos Dassault.

This liminal space gives rise to what cultural theorist Homi K. Bhabha calls hybridization, manifesting itself in the formation of new mixed identities due to the interaction between diverse cultures and people nearby. The border becomes an "intermediate" space that carries the weight and meaning of culture. We see this phenomenon unfold in Norteño culture, as well as its inverse analog in Chicano culture across the border. These “third identities” are a testament to the porosity of borders and the malleability of culture. In a globalized and interwoven world, increasingly precarious, what is a border? How do you create a life in a place that is also a transitional space, an “in-between” world, between worlds? In this desert of dust and fragments of people's lives, the labyrinth of loneliness that Octavio Paz wrote about emerges.

Who are these characters in the portraits? Prodigal sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. A part of humanity that is overlooked and misunderstood. Ripped from their roots and forced to leave an entire life behind, these migrants find themselves in an extremely precarious position. They look at the viewer with tired and hopeful eyes. This series of portraits are juxtaposed against large-scale photographs of inhospitable and expansive landscapes. In these landscapes, the natural continuum is interrupted by highways, by the border wall. Together, the photographs are a meditation on identity, the duality of otherness and belonging.


Poet. “Between Worlds” by Kelly Santos Dassault. Photograph by Kelly Santos Dassault.

The flow of migrants making the arduous journey to the border between Mexico and the United States has grown steadily in the last decade, reaching its highest point in recent years. In December 2023, a record 300,000 people crossed the border seeking asylum. A large percentage of migrants come from places further south in Mexico, driven by extreme economic circumstances, as in Venezuela, or by growing cartel violence and corruption, as in Ecuador and Guatemala. Many come from places on the other side of the world, such as Africa, India, and China, using Central America as an entry point to the continent and, ultimately, the United States. Regardless of their reasons, these migrants share a common denominator: tenacious hope. Migration of this nature is, for many, a measure of last resort.

The journey is long and arduous, and sometimes fatal. Along the vast migration route that stretches from South America to the United States through Mexico, there are several small towns and cities, stopping points for passing caravans of thousands. Picturesque for their natural beauty, these towns are, however, desolate and impoverished. As the northernmost point of this trajectory, Tijuana represents, for those who traveled thousands of kilometers for months, through jungles and plateaus, on foot, by truck, and by freight train, the climax, material and symbolic, of all your hopes. As a border city, Tijuana is a bridge to another life. And yet, the journey is far from over. For many, the border becomes a limbo, a bureaucratic purgatory. A waiting game with changing rules and an uncertain outcome. Many simply decide they can't wait any longer, crossing the border on their terms. In 2023, 3.2 million crossing attempts were recorded along the southern border of the United States.


Thinker. “Between Worlds” by Kelly Santos Dassault. Photograph by Kelly Santos Dassault.

When Santos Dassault came to Tijuana in 2014 to document the border, she was immediately captivated by the city and its inhabitants. Beyond these initial impressions, he quickly perceived another, darker reality and the political forces at play. The striking image of the border wall stretching into the ocean moved her deeply, inspiring a deep fascination with understanding the complexities of this place. What emerged from her time immersed in the city is a captivating mosaic of stories, the intersection of both personal and collective mythologies.