This sculptural work engages with materials commonly found in agriculture, elevating their significance to explore the themes of land and territory in northwestern Mexico. It juxtaposes the tactile strength of industrial elements like chicken wire and metal mesh with the ethereal, translucent quality of red organza. This play between hard and soft materials evokes tension and contrast, reflecting the harsh realities of the region’s landscape and social fabric.

 

The red organza floats, pulled in various directions, resembling a suspended piece of meat—a holographic metaphor for the lives that pass through this terrain. Here, “meat” symbolizes the human lives smuggled across the border into the U.S., a process facilitated by individuals known as “coyotes.” The term “coyote” refers both to the opportunistic animal native to this area, often considered a pest, and to the people who profit from dangerous, illegal crossings, exposing migrants to life-threatening risks. Coyotes, in both senses, thrive in conditions of vulnerability and desperation, exploiting resources and lives alike.

 

At the base of the piece, a physical red light reflector shines onto the fabric, symbolically illuminating the figure of the coyote. This element refuses to let the coyotes remain hidden in the shadows of society, instead casting them into the light and making them protagonists of the narrative. By exposing them, the sculpture forces us to confront the ethical complexity of their role, neither glorifying nor dismissing their impact but instead laying bare the reality of their existence.
 

The sculpture provokes a reflection on the desensitization of society to these harsh realities. It confronts the normalization of exploitation, questioning whether we are blind to it or simply choose not to see. Like a hologram, the work embodies an image that seems substantial but elusive, inviting us to question what is truly present beneath the surface of what we witness daily. Through this haunting interplay of materials and meanings, the piece challenges us to reckon with the fragility of life, the ethics of seeing or ignoring suffering, and the forces that drive these dangerous, invisible networks into the light.