Kristine Lauron

What defines citizenship? Its meanings are ever-changing, though have strayed away from its essence of providing care. Rather, citizenship has evolved into a system that protects borders instead of people, ranking the world by nations and dividing us. Exploring how its architecture informs feeling, language, and action, this project examines citizenship as an area that can extend care beyond borders through typography, sculpture, and printed matter.

Access Denied highlights the obstacles involved in accessing care from the state and society. In emulating the immigration checkpoint it shows that this questioning and intimidation exist beyond the airport, shedding light on the hostility manifested with an emphasis on citizenship papers as proof of belonging.

In transforming empathy into action, Beyond Borders strives to change how we define citizenship. As populations distrust one another and limit their care within nations, this outcome adopts a grassroots approach to make citizenship more inclusive and accessible by creating grounds for conversation, not enemies.