For artist, found objects humanize migrant journey
"Picking Up the Pieces," an exhibit of artwork inspired by items left behind by migrants crossing the deserts of Southern Arizona, opened Tuesday at the University of Arizona School of Art.
Artist Deborah McCullough has been been walking migrant trails for years, collecting objects left behind by border crossers, and using them to create her installations.
"I find ... personal items, an embroidered cloth used for wrapping tortillas, a child's toy, a baby carrier, a Bible or a notebook with hand-written prayers," McCullough said.
What inspires her work? McCullough hopes to appeal to the viewer's sense of humanity.
"My objective is to present these things in such a way that the viewer is reminded that these are human beings who are walking mile after mile; people who are caught in a political web," said McCullough. "They are people struggling to feed their families or they may be people trying to return to families in the USA."
The exhibit, produced in collaboration with UA's Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry, is open through Oct. 31, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p .m, in the Lionel Rombach Gallery, 1031 N. Olive Rd., Rm. 108.
A closing reception, Nov. 1, 1:30-3 p.m., will be held in conjunction with the center's Full Circle: Confluencenter Explores the the Sounds, Tastes and Sights of Death.