Minerva Cuevas looks back on Crossing of the Rio Bravo (2010), a work in which she painted a bridge across a riverbed that divides Mexico and the United States. On her visit to where the Rio Bravo / Rio Grande snakes through the Chihuahuan Desert, Cuevas found the media’s depiction of the border is inaccurate. “Violence is a very strong element in this perception of what’s the border,” says the artist. “Not witnessing anything connected to that kind of mediatic violence, it’s the first liberation. You realize that what is intimidating is the desert itself.”

In light of President Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the entire border, Cuevas explains that this wall would only increase human trafficking, not stop immigration. “Nationalism is linked to violence and the Other, and the differences between communities, rather than some kind of uniting element that is more necessary,” says Cuevas.

Though she believes that projects like Crossing of the Rio Bravo can help us rethink our perceptions, the artist knows that collective action is required to enact lasting change. “Books and projects can be important, but they won’t be a solution,” says the artist. “The problems or the crisis in the world is generated by everybody. So it has to be also a massive reaction.”