Undocumented is a collection of photographs from photojournalist John Moore, taken over a course of 10 years at the border of Mexico. This is a humanistic issue that has been increasingly prevalent and extremely critical, yet immensely divisive, especially now, during the era of the Trump administration. With that, Moore has taken the initiative to try to humanize the people on both sides: the people in the Immigration Customs Enforcement, and the people coming to the United States in search of a better life. As such, he has formed relationships with people and organizations on both sides in order to capture a broader perspective. Moore has stated that he has been all over the entirety of the Mexican border, seemingly to pursue the same said goal in his project, and capturing undocumented families and the state of fear they live in.

Seeing this project reminded me that, as a photographer and someone pursuing an artistic (and perhaps journalistic) career, that in many cases, it is important to try to see issues from the eyes of both sides; to try to put myself in other people’s shoes. I believe Moore has done a fantastic job in doing this, and correspondingly, capturing these people and families at risk of being deported back into a country that they intended to flee from, for whatever reasons they may have had. His photograph of a young girl crying, that went viral to the extent of being seen by approximately half of the world population, perfectly exemplifies this. This may be one of my favorite exhibitions in Photoville, in consideration of how important this is in our nation’s current state of events.