Spaces of Detention
new jersey • cinthya santos briones
From the 2021-2022 We, Women nationwide exhibit.
About the project
The most concrete expression of anti-immigrant policy in the United States is found in the spaces where migrants are detained. Spaces of Detention is a collaborative project that examines how the infrastructure and the architecture in four ICE detention centers in upstate New Jersey shape social interactions and affect the well-being and mental health of migrants.
Through collecting autobiographical narratives, migrants who have been detained in these prisons tell their experiences through drawing, writing, and photo collages. These stories give an account of the “architecture of punishment,” emphasizing the lack of access to proper nutrition, surveillance cameras as an expansion of torture, linguistic barriers, and incarceration of indigenous Mesoamerican migrants—all resulting in diverse forms of hetero-patriarchal violence and systemic abuse. This project strives to dismantle the narratives of trauma photography that commodify the pain of others and to provide space for healing and collective action.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Access the We, Women Education Resource Guide here, where you can dive more deeply into the 19 We, Women projects and think more deeply about collaboration and community!
About the Artist
Cinthya Santos Briones is a Mexican photographer, anthropologist, ethnohistorian and community organizer based in New York. Her multimedia work uses a collaborative approach to tell stories about homeland, immigration, memory, identity and self-representation through an interdisciplinary process that uses photography, ethnography, history, drawings, and audiovisual and written narratives. Cinthya received grants from Magnum Foundation and National Geographic, and has published her work in the New York Times, California Sunday Magazine, and Vogue, among others.