2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageGeography of Disappearance: Documenting Migrant Deaths on the US/Mexico Border
Marcus DeSieno
Saturday, March 21 - 9:00AM to 10:00AM
Agusta
Geography of Disappearance is an ongoing project documenting the humanitarian crisis unfolding at the US/Mexico border, which the United Nations has declared to be the deadliest land crossing in the world. Using data collected from autopsy reports, law enforcement, and humanitarian organizations, I photograph the exact sites where migrants have died - deliberate outcomes of U.S. policies of
"prevention through deterrence." This policy strategically funnels migrants into some of the most hostile and remote desert terrain, effectively weaponizing the landscape. Many of these migrants are sometimes never found as they die in the vast emptiness of the wilderness. The earth reclaims their bodies, and they disappear. Nature is used as an executioner by proxy.
My process is grounded in traditional analog photography and darkroom experimentation, utilizing specific alternative processes to create purposeful and forceful markmaking in my photographs. These visceral, impressionistic images resist documentary clarity, instead offering a visual metaphor for disappearance, trauma, and state-sanctioned violence. The landscapes I photograph are steeped with colonial histories that echo the violence and legacy of white supremacy embedded in the United States.
Much of this work is made as I work with humanitarian organizations across the border from California to Texas. I am interested in the role of artmaking through an activist lens. Ultimately, this work acts as a space of both remembrance and resistance. In presenting this work at the "Catalyst for Exchange" 2026 conference, I hope to foster critical dialogue around photography's role as an agent for change and political critique.
speaker
Marcus DeSieno
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