This has been the intial stage in the development of a "permanent" art work for the pedrestrian walkway of The Bridge of the Americas. It was the pilot project for a collaborative approach to producing art work that has its roots firmly planted in the communities for which it is designed. The Bridge Project is a work in progress.

The permanent work will use the same concept and extend the process to work at a deeper level with the participants. The workshops will be held in collaboration with local artists, teachers, writers, historians and technicians. The participants on both sides of the border will develop a deeper knowledge in which to base their imagery and text.The shirts, when completed, along with small objects relevant to the participant, will be cast in clear acrylic resin. The finished pieces will be intalled permanently on the chain link fence, spanning the bridge between Mexico and the United States.This next stage will include real-time documentation of the project on the internet, allowing for communities around the world to follow the process and contribute to it.

The Bridge of the Americas is a fascinating public space; a unique place where the meeting of two dynamic cultures is surrounded by harsh metal fences, concrete, barbed wire and uniforms. This creates a non-place, without a soul, that presents an inhuman atmosphere of a no-man's land. The challenge is to produce an artwork that will humanize this crossing by reminding people of who they are, where they are coming from and where they are going.

"I aspire to produce art that is not self-referential but relates and responds powerfully to entities outside itself. My work is about developing an aesthetic around community and site with issues relevant to both. It is non-autonomous in approach and often is a catalyst for social change. It engages those who have rarely or never thought of themselves as being creative to recognize and express knowledge and ideas. My work as an artist is to conduct this process and produce a powerful visual image in spaces readily accessible to a broad public. The art becomes part of society rather than for it. This art practice often finds itself and its process outside the usual evaluation of contemporary art"

"I have over the years developed a process-oriented system that provides for interactive community involvement, with a professional result that relates to my personal artistic aesthetics. I work to find the visual form in which to locate ideas and talents. My work is based on component parts that are linked by theme, form, and aesthetic boundaries which allow for individual freedom of expression while forming a cohesive unit."

Chrissie Orr