International Symposium on Migration (May 28)
Bodies in Motion: Humanizing Migrant Journeys in Derli Romero’s Rostros migrantes (Migrant Faces) and Mujeres en tránsito (Women in Transit)

Program

13:10 Open

13:30 Opening remarks by Shigeko Mato, Associate Director of the International House of Literature

13:30-15:00 Presentation by Kimberle López and Derli Romero, followed by Q&A

15:00-15:20 Discussant: Megan Saltzman

15:20-16:00 More Q&A and conversation

In this presentation, Mexican artist Derli Romero and U.S. literary scholar Kimberle López will describe the process through which the interrelated art projects Rostros migrantes (2019) and Mujeres en tránsito (2025) emerged. These two projects humanize migrants traveling through Mexico toward the United States. Combining oral history, photography, and printmaking, Romero transforms migrants’ clothing and testimonies into moving works of art that illuminate the lived experiences often obscured in mainstream media representations of migration. Romero began by interviewing more than 100 migrants from Central America and South America passing through Mexico on their way north, recording their testimonies and photographing their profiles. He then exchanged their old clothes for new ones and made paper from the fabric. Using the photographs, he created profile silhouettes on the handmade paper and printed each migrant’s short narrative on them. While Rostro migrantes features face silhouettes, Mujeres en tránsito focuses specifically on women migrants, presenting full-body silhouettes and testimonies that reveal the specific forms of violence and vulnerability women experience during migration. The installation, displayed with suspended silhouettes and audio recordings, invites participants/viewers to perceive the realities of migration and encourages a more humanized understanding of migrants’ experiences.

Please note that if the venue reaches full capacity, attendees may be asked to stand or admission may be restricted.

参照URL = https://www.waseda.jp/culture/wihl/other/12752