Allison Dinner
US Southern Border
A group of migrants illegally cross the Rio Grande River from Mexico into the United States in Piedras Negras, Mexico. US Southern Border. July 2022.
I converted a professional digital camera to an infrared camera that would mimic the effect of shooting Aerochrome film. Aerochrome film was developed decades ago in a joint venture with the U.S. Government and Kodak, and was originally used for surveillance of borders. It is no longer made nor available so I chose to go about what would be a digital version. The point of using this technique is to show migration through a military surveillance format, but with a softer view. The way the foliage takes on red hues and certain other elements(due to the natural infrared chrome properties) acts as a dream state. A soft vivid dream most migrants have when they think of coming to the United States, but that is unfortunately shattered. The dream gets disrupted when they realize the harsh conditions to get to the U.S. and the even harsher reality of being able to stay in the country once it is reached. The southern U.S. border with Mexico is currently seeing the most illegal migrant traffic in the history of U.S. Border Patrol. With numbers in the millions breaking record after record.