This Independence Day weekend, 80 artists are asking Americans to look at the sky. During July 3-4, immigration-related messages will be written 10,000 feet away from WWII military aircraft, written to more than 80 sites related to the country’s network of Immigration Service detention centers and United States Customs (ICE), Immigration Courts, and The Southern Border. The idea is to draw attention to these facilities, which may not be familiar to many Americans.
The “In Plain Sight” project is led by Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artists Rafa Esparza and Cassils.
“(We have come together) to fight the culture of incarceration and focus (our) attention on abolishing ICE,” Cassils said in a video call.
The message from Black Lives Matter artist and co-founder Patrisse Cullors “Care Not Cages” about the Los Angeles County Jail on July 3. Credit: Chris Mastro
“Some of (the facilities) are in the middle of nowhere, but some are in the center of their city, woven into our urban landscape,” Cassils said.
The team behind “In Plain Sight” has partnered with partner organizations and nonprofits across the United States, including the ACLU of Southern California and the Watch Detention Network. “We don’t see the work as artists as activists, but as artists who amplify the work that activists already do so well,” said Cassils.
Also through the website, viewers can learn how to contribute, from joining the #FreeThemAll campaign to donating to the National Immigration Detention Bond Fund.
Artist Tina Takemoto’s “Not Forgotten” message about Terminal Island Federal Prison in San Diego on July 3. Credit: Mark Von Holden
The message is “a poetic act that stays in the sky, if the wind behaves, for up to 10 minutes,” said Cassils. However, the project will be extended through an augmented reality application that displays the messages virtually.
About the ICE Processing Center of South Texas, which has a unit for transgender women, Zachary Drucker, a consultant for “Transparente”, chose the Spanish phrase “We’ll see you”, in reference to the proclamation of former attorney general Loretta Lynch told the transgender community in 2016. “(It is) the female version of the phrase, a subtle way to recognize one woman for another,” Drucker, who is trans, said in an email. “I want to convey a message of unity to transgender women and to all people living in forced detention.”
Along the border between the United States and Mexico, at the Laredo Juárez-Lincoln port of entry, viewers will be able to hear the detainees. Artist Devon Tsuno’s message is telephone number 956-701-0149; when called, it will reproduce the written correspondence of the detained immigrants. “(Tsuno) used this platform to literally amplify the voices of the people who are being detained.” Esparza said.
Artist Beatriz Cortez’s “No Cages No Jualas” message in a Los Angeles immigration court on July 3. Credit: Dee Gonzalez
Reference points related to immigration are also included. On Ellis Island in New York, where the Statue of Liberty lifts its torch, Dread Scott’s message will be a name: Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejía, an immigrant who died at an ICE facility of the coronavirus in May. The statue is “a symbol of freedom,” Scott said by email. “It is important to have a message that is inconsistent with that image.”
The company that flies the planes is the Skytypers Air Show Team, which come together in a planned formation, ensuring that the smoke released from each plane combines to form a message.
“Skytyping is a methodology for delivering proud messages from the country on the fourth of July,” said Cassils. “(We are delivering) these different kinds of feelings that call into question where we are as a country right now and what it means to be an American.” This is not a dissident work of art; this is really a very patriotic work of art. “
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