From Sunday April 22 through Sunday April 29, The Cherry Artspace hosted daily showings of FROM LAND TO LAND.
FROM LAND TO LAND was an exhibit created by filmmaker and Cornell Assistant Professor Dehanza Rogers. The video and sound installation explored the vulnerabilities of status by asking; What does it mean to be undocumented in a time of crisis? What does it mean to be undocumented while merely living one’s life?
The exhibit’s opening reception was held on Sunday April 22 where Dehanza Rogers introduced and inaugurated the work. On Sunday April 29, the last day of the exhibit, a panel discussed the current state of our immigration system and what one can do locally to support those highly at risk.
FROM LAND TO LAND communicated its stories through two installation segments. An oversized traditional video screen dominated the room, showing undocumented families in crisis. This piece required participation from the audience, as attendees had to literally lean in and listen at a door to hear the story of an undocumented Cornell student whose status could leave him unprotected and vulnerable.
Stories and people were forced behind closed doors, keeping their stories and themselves quiet and invisible. This invisibility allowed the stripping away of humanity of those effected by bureaucracy and the callousness of the current Administration.
FROM LAND TO LAND wa s generously funded in part by the Cornell Council for the Arts and the Cornell Performing & Media Arts – PMA.
Further information can be found at www.fromlandtoland.com.
About Dehanza Rogers
Dehanza Rogers is a filmmaker and an assistant professor in the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge in Anthropology, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Production/Directing and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinematography from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television.
An award winning filmmaker of both narratives and documentaries, Rogers’ work has screened nationally and internationally. A Panamanian-American, her films explore the African diaspora, themes of race, and the liminality of statehood in relation to identity, as well as, youth culture.
