This diptych is a series of photographic stills from a personal ceremony in which I performed a dance alone, responding to the grief and anger I felt towards reports of child separation at the border in recent years. In the empathetic and cathartic experience of this dance, I raged and grieved for the mothers separated from their children as they arrive in the place they envisioned would create safety. I danced with a mirror as an act of symbolic meaning-making with the intention of reflecting back the horrors of this policy to the people aiding and abetting this practice of separating families.
 

Ceremony and ritual are not a substitute for taking action against injustice. At the same time, ceremony and ritual can help us process strong emotions, preparing us to move to action. Dancing for the mothers I would likely never meet was an important moment to process the strong emotions I experienced about this issue as I considered how I might respond beyond my internal feelings of helplessness, grief and anger.
 

As of May 2024, over 1,400 children impacted from child separation at the border have yet to be reunited with their families.

To learn more and support reunification efforts, visit the resources below: 
 

KIND: Kids In Need of Defense Reunification Project

Women's Refugee Commission
US Department of Homeland Security Family Reunification Taskforce