Migration is natural; borders are not. In her artwork for Amplifier, Jess X.Snow explores the historic process of moving and rerooting, spreading out and starting over. At a time when crossing boundaries is criminalized and punished more than ever, Snow takes us back to how the migratory cycle is a cathartic part of our DNA.
The pieces, commissioned for the Women’s March Convention in October of 2017, were first displayed along the US-Canada border at the Detroit Convention Center. Snow’s imagery intertwines the different patterns of motion found across the Earth to show that it’s an essential part of how life continues to grow and evolve across time.
“In these pieces the Earth is a migrating bird made of ocean, her sea creatures & branches who is soaring to the alternate Earth who is the face of a queer woman,” says Snow. “Remember the 4 billion year old geological history of his planet. Migration is older than borders and nations, and as ancient as time itself.”