The Crossing

The Crossing is about a controversial border-crossing between New York, USA and Quebec, Canada, where asylum-seekers try and enter Canada to make a refugee claim.

"The Crossing", Roxham Road, refers to an irregular border site between New York state, U.S.A. and Quebec, Canada, where refugees have been attempting to walk into Canada since 2017, to claim asylum. Through photographs, made during 10 trips in 2019, 2021 and 2022, I explore the various forces that converge and intersect in response to its existence – the cab drivers who shuttle asylum-seekers from Plattsburgh to the border, volunteers offering support, Canadian authorities who control the activity, asylum-seekers, the rural landscape, the Plattsburgh bus station (most refugees take the bus from NYC - Plattsburgh, then cab to site, not a legal point of entry), the road, RCMP buildings and discarded objects.

The drama of each person’s crossing carries the potency of this heightened moment echoing global migration issues but manifested on a small, manageable scale, making it a unique site.

The traditional iconography of the refugee photograph emphasizes victimhood and otherness. As a documentary story-teller I'd like to challenge this view showing the everyday reality of people with contemporary belongings and style, as they risk everything to enter a better life. My motivation is to give voice to those without status and to a situation which people would rather turn away from. Growing up with a mother who was a holocaust survivor, I am familiar with the trauma and loss behind each person's flight. This becomes my point of connection and entry into the emotional landscape of the current migrants.