In his artistic practice, this leading creator of public art combines political activism with social engagement. Presenting over a hundred projections in various parts of the world, Krzysztof Wodiczko provides tools for democratizing public space.

In The Border Projection (1988), the artist executed two works, in San Diego and Tijuana, cities separated by the US–Mexico border, which was crossed in this region by the greatest number of immigrants. In San Diego images were projected on buildings designed in the rich colonial style designed to showcase the city’s Spanish heritage. The ornate façade of the California Building, full of patriotic and ecclesiastical references to the past, with figures of kings, conquistadors and martyrs, was the site for a projection revealing the underside of the triumphal history of colonialism. On both sides of the main entrance, the artist projected images of manicured hands holding sumptuous cutlery, but on the adjacent soaring tower, an image of overworked hands holding a basket of fruit. The juxtaposition of bejewelled hands in ruffled cuffs, with chained hands and a knife for picking fruit, problematized the glorification of the colonial past.

Author: Bożena Czubak