Tijuana Compressed (2002-2004)

Photography, Writing, Interviews, limited edition 20-page book object, Site-specific exhibition.

Tijuana Compressed explores Tijuana’s informal architecture through photography, examining settlements autonomously constructed by migrants.

This project reflects on urban growth in the border city of Tijuana by observing the particular way in which migrants from diverse sociocultural environments settle in and adapt to their geographical surroundings.The photographs show their usage of industrial waste like discontinued TV parts and pallets thrown out by factories in the city, as well as scrap materials from the United States, such as used garage doors resold in Mexico to be used as walls. The domestic structures that individuals build with these scavenged resources have close ties to their cultural backgrounds. For instance, people from Chiapas or Zacatecas would build their homes differently than those from Guanajuato or Nayarit. Each of them makes use of these same materials in distinct ways.

I spent one year working with the inhabitants of Nueva Esperanza, a settlement autonomously constructed by migrants, getting to know the location and its people through numerous visits and interviews. The data I collected spans the stories of these families’ migrations; gathers economic data on the income of the settlement’s inhabitants; and explores their thoughts and perceptions regarding Nueva Esperanza, the quality of their living spaces, the settlement’s environmental health, and the organization of their community. 

Compression for me is not merely a response to the spatial limitations of the city; it is an intricate layering of histories, materials, and human narratives, constantly shifting under the forces of flux and scarcity. The project is a way of decoding the urban fabric itself as an archive—a repository of resilience, memory, and resistance.

When the project came to a close, and before it was displayed in institutions, I mounted an exhibition for the community of Nueva Esperanza within the settlement itself. My purpose was to open new channels of dialogue and reflection, and to share my findings first and foremost with the collaborators of my artistic work.

All photos and interviews are concentrated in the limited edition 20-page book object Tijuana Comprimida, which was published with the support of the Baja California Council of Arts and Culture and the Mexico City Museum of Modern Art.

Exhibition view: Tijuana Comprimida exhibition, Nueva Esperanza autonomously constructed settlement, Tijuana, Mexico. January 2005.

Project realized with the support of Creators Grant, Program of Incentives for Creation and Artistic Development (PECDA) and Program for the support of the Municipality and Community Cultures (PACMyC).