Through the Repellent Fence follows art collective Postcommodity as they construct Repellent Fence, a two-mile-long outdoor artwork that straddled the U.S.–Mexico border. Postcommodity consists of three Native American artists who put land art in a tribal context. In 2015 the artists worked with communities on both sides to install a series of 28 huge inflatable spheres emblazoned with an insignia known as the “open eye” that has existed in Indigenous cultures from South America to Canada for thousands of years. The artwork crossed the border a mile in each direction and symbolized a suture stitching back together cultures that have inhabited the land long before borders were drawn.

Through the Repellent Fence is an adventure in the artistic process blended with a road trip of discovery visiting sites and diverse perspectives to explore how land and art can generate community interaction and perceptual shifts in how we interpret, engage, and draw inspiration from our natural world.

Directed by Sam Wainwright. Wainwright is a director and editor working out of Austin, Texas.

Photo Credit: Michael Lundgren; Courtesy: Postcommodity