Œuvres » Par titre » B » Border (62:28 / 1995)

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Border is the soundtrack to an installation about the American and Mexican border at Laredo and Nuevo Laredo. It floats through sonic textures and ambiences that evoke the desolate and oppressive mood of a national boundary.

Political borders are economic borders and are invented and enforced by people, but people are not welcome to visit and are barely tolerated to pass through. Borders are dangerous places; authorities take them very seriously.

But trade agreements can pry open borders but only enough that money can pass freely. People remain stopped.

The sounds refer to money and commerce — spilling and shaking of salt (salary) and coins — and hint at movement with the speeding of trucks. But the soundscape is muffled and slowed to give a stronger feeling of blockage, caution, and surveillance. It is mostly devoid of people and animals. Water is a frequent theme as the separator, and a helicopter regularly monitors any human activity.