A classic childhood park installation is allowing children on both sides of the border to play together. A set of pink seesaws, trans-border seesaws, if you will, was installed at the barrier wall on the US-Mexico border near the Anapra area of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This creative project was authored by Ronald Rael, an architecture professor at UC Berkeley and Virginia San Fratello, an assistant professor at the San José State University in California.
@rrael
The project was first conceived in 2009 when it was called the Teeter-totter Wall. Ten years later it has finally opened to the public. Rael posted a video on his instagram account recorded over the border wall where you can see families on both sides. “One of the most incredible experiences of my and @vasfsf’s [Viriginia San Fratello’s] career bringing to life the conceptual drawings of the Teeter-totter Wall from 2009 in an event filled with joy, excitement, and togetherness at the border wall. The wall became a literal fulcrum for U.S. – Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side.”
His Instagram post includes several pictures of children happily playing on the pink seesaws, which is a symbolic installation and a statement in and of itself. Back in 2009, the political discourse in the country was not as polarized as what it has become, thanks in large part to the the presence of Donald Trump and his vilifying of Mexican and Central American immigrants. Thus, it’s highly significant that, ten years later, this project is meant to bring families together at a point where a physical barrier intends to separate them.
@rrael
The Teeter-totter Wall sends a powerful message, a counterweight to hate speech and an intention to build bridges, or seesaws, rather than walls.
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