“Nogales” was the first ever “Back Room” show at Craig Gallery!
This exhibition features the photography of Rick Chard, taken during his time spent in Nogales Arizona, a small US town that borders the larger Nogales Mexico.
The show was available to view at Craig Gallery in November and will be on our website virtually (below).
Intro from the artist:
A number of years ago while staying in Tucson I realized I needed to learn more
about the border between the USA and Mexico.
So much was being reported in regard to the issues there I decided to take my
camera and see it for myself.
I began to spend some time in Nogales Arizona, a small US town (20,000 people)
bordering the larger city of Nogales Mexico (212,000 people).
Nogales Arizona is one of the largest ports of entry into the US for manufactured
products such as Volkswagen cars and Bombardier snow mobiles, and ATVs.
Fruit and vegetables from Mexico also travel through Nogales on the CANAMEX
Corridor stopping for distribution through a large network of warehouses on the
outskirts of town.
The unfortunate thing for this community is it is divided. Its larger more vibrant
half is on the Mexican side of the wall. Yes there is already a wall on the border
between parts of the U.S. and Mexico. In particular there is a 15 to 20 ft steel wall
through Nogales.
When I first went down to the barrier between these two countries I had a very
preconceived idea as to what it was…. unnecessary.
Yes it is ugly and imposing but the thing that troubled me the most was the
recent concertina (razor) wire installed by the U.S. army under the instruction
of the current government. This has also angered the mayor of Nogales AZ and
many of its citizens.
Sadly a wall is not only a barrier between two countries but also a barrier
between families, community and humanity.
But like many things in life there are often more perspectives, issues and
perceptions than you would first imagine.
This chain of events has brought me to this point. To document what I see and
hear.
I’m hopeful that this ongoing project will help me acquire more insight and
understanding of very complicated issue.w
