The things they carried: Olympia gets a sampling of photographer’s work at the border
.jpg "Tom Kiefer’s photos of objects taken from migrants by the Border Patrol hang in Los Angeles’ Skirball Cultural Center. Possessions considered non-essential or potentially dangerous — including water bottles and extra clothing — are confiscated.")
Red, white and blue toothbrushes fit together almost like puzzle pieces.
Six pocket Bibles in English and Spanish, some well-read, some looking almost new, are in two rows on a paisley cloth.
Shoelaces — so many shoelaces — form a colorful nest.
A stuffed pink monkey lies face down as if flung to the floor by a gleeful toddler.
These images, careful arrangements of objects the U.S. Border Patrol confiscated from migrants who crossed the border from Mexico, are the life’s work of Tom Kiefer of Ajo, Arizona, who began collecting personal objects from the trash while working as a janitor at a Border Patrol facility.
His work is the subject of a major exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles —and this weekend, 47 of his photos will be on view in Olympia, too.
The local exhibition is the work of Marilyn Walther, who read an article about Kiefer and his work.
His photos of objects taken from migrants, objects considered non-essential and potentially dangerous, so moved her that she contacted the artist to ask if she could show copies here.
“I was already angered, perturbed, sorry about what was going on at the border and then to see these belongings,” she told The Olympian. “Rosaries are taken away. Kids’ toys. Wallets with personal pictures. Extra clothing. … Then if they are deported, the migrants don’t have anything.
“Where is our compassion? Who are we if we’re doing this?
“I just couldn’t hold it in,” she said. “I told my husband, ‘I have to do something.’ ”
The images on display Saturday and Sunday at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in west Olympia — which Walther first showed at St. Christopher’s Community Church on Steamboat Island — are presented quite differently than the framed prints on view in Los Angeles.
She printed the pieces on 8.5-inch-by-11-inch paper, laminated them and affixed them to plywood. They hang from lengths of rope.
“What’s so incredible about what she has done is it’s so heartfelt and organic,” Kiefer told The Olympian. “It’s wonderful the initiative that she took and the respect that she has towards the work.”
Like Walther, Kiefer wants the work to be seen. Though the Skirball exhibit — titled “El Sueño Americano | The American Dream” — will tour nationally, this grassroots effort will allow more people to see the work in community.
“The most important thing is drawing attention to what this is about — the barbarism, the brutality, the inhumanity, the cruelty,” he said, adding that he hopes his photos will inspire people to get involved, whether that means donating money, volunteering with an aid organization or a food bank, or simply taking the time to vote.
“If you feel like all you can contribute is your vote, my God, do that,” he said. “We have to do something here.”
Kiefer’s images, first shown in 2016, went viral after the news broke about children being separated from their parents at the border. The separations are in violation of international law, according to a United Nations study released earlier this month.
More than 100,000 children are still in migration-related detention, according to the study’s author Manfred Nowak. The United States has more children in migration-related custody than any other nation.
Kiefer’s work doesn’t address child separation directly. But the objects he collected before he left the Border Patrol job in 2014 — including diaper pins and baby shoes along with bars of soap, cell phones, and candy bars — tell of great loss.
They also offer a reminder of the vast common ground U.S. citizens share with those who risk their lives to come to this country.
Sandra Kreis, a former pastor at Gloria Dei, organized this weekend’s exhibition with Walther. She saw the photographs at St. Christopher’s and wanted to share them with a wider audience.
The exhibition also will include a large photo of Olympia artist Lucy Gentry’s “Border Christening,” which uses razor wire and antique christening gowns stiffened with plaster to represent the children separated from their parents. Gentry showed the piece during Arts Walk in October.
“As we were planning our showing, I saw Lucy’s work … and knew it was the missing piece,” Kreis told The Olympian.
‘A Photographic Essay: Border Belongings’
- What: Tom Kiefer’s photos of objects confiscated by the U.S. Border Patrol — photos that have made international news — will be on view in Olympia this weekend along with a photo of “Border Christening,” a mixed-media piece by local artist Lucy Gentry.
- When: Noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, and Sunday, Dec. 1
- Where: Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 1515 Harrison Ave. NW, Olympia
- Tickets: Free, with donations accepted for the CIELO Project and AMMPARO, an Evangelical Lutheran Church ministry serving migrant children.
- More information: 360-357-3386, tomkiefer.com
- Also: Gloria Dei will offer free coffee and cookies during the exhibition, said retired pastor Sandra Kreis, “or we wouldn’t be Lutheran.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 7:00 AM.