DeLIMITations: A Survey of the 1821 United States-Mexico Border

In 2014, artists Marcos Ramírez ERRE and David Taylor set out to trace the historical 1821 border between Mexico and the western territories of the United States. That border stretched from the present-day Oregon/California state line to the Gulf of Mexico just west of Louisiana, and previously existed only as a reference on historic maps and treaty documents because it had never been surveyed or physically marked. 

For DeLIMITations, ERRE and Taylor asked the question, “what would Mexico and the United States look like if that boundary had been fully realized?” ERRE and Taylor, accompanied by filmmaker José Inerzia, who helped document the process, drove a van outfitted to serve as a mobile command center, fabrication space, and camper along the 1821 border. The artists marked the boundary by installing 47 sheet metal markers that mimic the stone and iron obelisks that delineate the current international border between the United States and Mexico.

DeLIMITations: A Survey of the 1821 United States-Mexico Border is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and made possible by proceeds from the 2016 Biennial Art Auction. Institutional support of MCASD is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Fund.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website