Art

After going around the world, giant brain is placed at the Tijuana-San Diego border wall

After traveling through different parts of the world, it arrived in Tijuana to raise awareness about immigration

By Román Franco2022-09-13T22:00:00+00:00

Last September 9, 2022, while Civil Protection authorities were warning people about tropical storm Kay and suspending classes in the entire peninsula, performer Alejandro Rocha flew his brain above the Tijuana and San Diego border limit.

In Playas de Tijuana, at the northern border limits of Mexico, in the midst of strong winds and rain, Alejandro Rocha left a helium balloon flying by itself: a giant, red-colored brain part of his performance.

Alejandro has explained that flying this balloon is meant to represent the process that the immigrant community goes through, not only when they cross from Mexico to the US, but all around the world.

This idea comes from the artist’s own experience as an immigrant. While being in Spain, studying in Barcelona, he was detained by that country’s authorities for not having documents. In that moment, according to Alejandro, he became aware of the immigration phenomenon and decided to create an art piece about this topic; what resulted was called Aforo Nómada (Nomad Capacity).

The first immigratory action, according to the performer, is the one that occurs in thought. The mind is the first thing that crosses cultural borders. His balloon is meant to represent this process that, according to the author, every immigrant goes through.

The balloon has flown over several parts of the world and Mexico. In August, it was part of an exhibition at an art festival in Nevada. Alejandro Rocha is a 36-year-old multidisciplinary artist. His installations and presentations want to make of public spaces a show, connecting them with the audience.