Land of Reclamation: they seem to have forgotten that in 1848 we stole their land

Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ, 2017

The 410 Project, Mankato, MN, 2013

Museo de Arte Juarez, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, MX, 2011

Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO 2009

Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ, 2008

Materials: chili powder on steel plate, wood gilded in gold leaf, electric hot plate

 

This 48" square sculpture was created in response to Arizona's SB 1070 law.

The Act made it a state misdemeanor for an illegal alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents and obligated police to make an attempt, when practicable during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest", to determine a person's immigration status if there was reasonable suspicion that the person was an illegal alien. Any person arrested could not be released without confirmation of that person's legal immigration status by the federal government. A person was "presumed to not be an immigrant who is unlawfully present in the United States" if he or she presented the proper form of identification.