Dystopian Borders

Answering this portfolio's call to envision a dystopian vision, this silk-screen print is made using woodcut mark-making to represent the colonial and imperial borders that have been imposed in the Americas. The color palette is intended to communicate a sense of urgency, as they speak to the ecological devastation facing the continents- a problem rooted in Western "modernity" and extractive economies that date back to the moment of colonization. Álvaro D. Márquez's Utopian Free Movement and Dystopian Borders were created in part of the 'Utopia/Dystopia' portfolio, curated by artist Miyo Stevens-Gandara. Miyo invited 26 artists to each pick two cards from a full deck, incorporating a diverse range of interpretations and ideas into a single, unified collection. In his dystopian print, Márquez presents a typical representation of the map of the Americas, showing the borders that were drawn out and imposed on the Americas as a result of colonial and imperial forces. His use of red and orange symbolizes ecological devastation caused by modernization and extractive economies dating back to the moment of colonization. By contrast, Márquez inverts the Americas and offers a borderless, fluid entity as a representation of utopia. He sources Joaquin Torres García's 'Inverted America' illustration, which destabilizes the established inferiority of South America and the "Global South" relative to the North.