Biomimicry + Borders
The Amber Band took some time to reflect on the current events taking place in our country, and tried to process the recent election news through art-making. Students talked about how their art showed a divide in our country, and for many this divide sparked questions around immigration. We decided to research the history of our political borders, and how the natural world crosses those borders freely. To guide our work, we asked: How might we design a vehicle that mimics a system from nature, allowing us to travel across borders?
Artists like Favianna Rodriguez, Tania Bruguera, and Theo Jansen were all great sources of inspiration for our work. Favianna's Migration is Beautiful series uses the butterfly as a symbol for migration, and it got us thinking metaphorically about our own work. Tania Brugera's Immigrant Movement International project, a community space that seeks to empower immigrants, showed us the power of community. Theo Jansen's Strandbeests captured the potential for bringing life to our vehicle designs. We organized ideas for our designs by conducting short research projects around immigration.
As an introduction to the complicated history of the political border between the United States and Mexico, we analyzed Crash Course's War and Expansion video. We also read Howard Zinn's A Young People's History of the United States, Chapter 8, War with Mexico. Students were surprised to learn that several of our States were previously part of Mexico, and that the Mexicans and Native Americans who had been living on that land were suddenly under the jurisdiction of the United States. This lead us to explore current events on immigration. Students read this article on Donald Trump's deportation plan. The article got us thinking more about how and why people might cross borders.
We talked about examples of how the natural world crosses borders through migrations, in search of food and shelter for survival. Then we looked at how scientists and inventors are learning from nature to make advancements in technology, like how Tokyo's Shinkansen Bullet Train was inspired by the aerodynamic head of the Kingfisher. To help us take a closer look at nature, and to get inspiration for our biomimicry vehicles, we went on an excursion to the California Academy of Sciences. We got up close to living creatures and preserved specimens to make detailed scientific illustrations in our journals, and students made note of the qualities they would use in the design of their vehicle.
On Friday students presented their biomimicry vehicle designs, along with their research on immigration. We took some time to reflect on how our thinking had changed on immigration. Each vehicle design showed new possibilities for exploration, and their written reflections captured the challenges many face by crossing borders. After the Thanksgiving break, we'll continue exploring alternative vehicle designs and looking closely at our global community.