how the term "immigrant" becomes an unwarranted identity

Place yourself in the shoes of an "illegal alien," a Mexican immigrant. To the United States government, you're solely one of two things: either documented or undocumented, either legal or illegal. Without having any regard to personal identity, this readily imposed, artificial "identity" is crucial in the government's negative portrayal of the latino community. Consequently, stereotypes are made and become essential in the identification of minorities by the majority — regardless of citizenship or not: "the association of these minority groups as unassimilable foreigners has led to the creation of 'alien citizens,' — persons who are American citizens by virtue of their birth in the United States but who are presumed to be foreign by the mainstream of American culture and, at times, by the state." (Mae Ngai, "Illegal Aliens: A Problem of Law and History")

Sesnon Gallery's current exhibition DOC/UNDOC aims to challenge the pseudo, stereotypical identity the US government has instilled onto the latino community and engraved into the minds of everyone else. The collaborative art project, made up of video, found-objects, interactive pieces and live performances, forces us to reexamine: who is considered documented and who is considered undocumented not only in regards to citizenship, but in regards to a more personal identity. A Ken Barbie doll sits on a shelf wearing a mariachi suit alongside another that sits, legs crossed, wearing a luchador mask. What spectators may come to realize, however, as I have, is that these personal identities have been nonetheless influenced a great deal by the government-imposed identity of "alien," of "illegal," of "undocumented," or of "other." That a label like "undocumented" as much as "immigrant" comes to be inherited, consciously or not, into the fundamental latino identity, now a mixture of both traditional heritage and first world politics.

Similarly to the presentations of DOC/UNDOC are Frida Kahlo's paintings, particularly "Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States," (1932). A troubled Kahlo stands in between US and Mexico — two countries and thus, two cultures. The depicted Mexican side includes traditional Mexican iconography, while the US side includes its own attributes, most obvious are the modern, industrial-looking buildings and consequent pollution. As she stands between two cultures, she stands between two identities, unable to truly identify with either or. Her painting, like DOC/UNDOC, suggests the trouble any minority can come to have in forming an identity, especially when their political environment plays a hidden and often damaging role in that formation. No one wants to or should be considered "illegal."

Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States (1932)

collaborating artist of DOC/UNDOC Guillermo-Gomez Peña