The wall became a literal fulcrum for U.S。 - Mexico relationsand children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on bothsides with the recognition that the actions that take place on oneside have a direct consequence on the other side。
San Fratello says she and Rael hope， “that people will seethis act of joy and happiness and positivity and togetherness andrealize that we‘re all the same， on both sides of the fence。 Andthat we want the same things for our lives and for ourchildren。”
The Texas-based Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education andLegal Services （RAICES） also praised the border wall installationas a powerful reminder that “we are all one。”
“Beautiful reminder that we are connected，” wrote Mexican TVstar Mauricio Martínez， who shared video of the seesaw installationto Twitter。 “What happens on one side impacts the other。”
“The symbolism of the seesaw is just magical，” said ClaudiaTristán， the Director of Latinx Messaging for 2020 Democraticpresidential candidate Beto O‘Rourke。
In 2009， the two designed a concept for a binational seesaw atthe border for a book， “Borderwall as Architecture，” which uses“humor and inventiveness to address the futility of buildingbarriers，” UC-Berkeley said。
Ten years later， their conceptual drawings became reality。Rael and his crew transported the seesaws to Sunland Park， NewMexico， separated by a steel fence from Ciudad Juárez， Mexico。
They chose the location because it was a place where people ineither country could directly approach the fence。 The see-saws werepainted hot pink to “pop and be vibrant， but also to honor thewomen who died during the femicides and the time of violence inJuárez，” says San Fratello， referring to the hundreds of women andgirls murdered in Ciudad Juárez since 1993。
According to San Fratello， the children lived close to theborder fencing in both countries， and were already outside when thesee-saws were installed。 “As soon as someone comes up to the borderwall， they come up and will engage you，” she tells TIME。 “When weshowed up with the teetertotters， they were there and ready toplay。”
Though the border has become politicized since Donald Trumpwas elected President following a campaign built on the promise ofwall between the United States and Mexico， San Fratello emphasizedthat she and Rael had been doing projects like this longbeforehand。
“We had been traveling in that region and saw the increasedborder security and the construction of the wall over the years，”San Fratello says。 “We started to develop these counter proposalsand commentary as a way of rethinking what the border is。”
While the border is quite literally a dividing line betweenthe United States and Mexico， San Fratello says that is “also aplace where people come together。 We wanted to create scenariosthat would celebrate togetherness。 And also highlight theridiculousness of the border wall。”
In a statement to TIME， a U.S。 Customs and Border Protectionofficial says U.S。 Border Patrol agents “encountered a small groupwho identified themselves as local university faculty/staff at theborder wall。 They had placed boards through the wall and appearedto be playing with residents of Mexico while recording theengagement。”
声明中还提到，“工作人员确认在整个过程中没有任何人或物品穿越国界。”
“Agents ensured that no people/goods were crossed during theencounter。”
Rael had previously given a TED Talk highlighting novelhypothetical uses for the border wall ― as fencing for a baseballfield， say， or as a giant instrument。 “Honestly， [Trump’s]presidency has just brought attention to the work that we’ve beendoing，” San Fratello says。
