Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Border Tuner/Sintonizador Fronterizo
Los Angeles CA 90027
United States
Announcing the publication of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Border Tuner / Sintonizador Fronterizo.
“Rafael Lozano-Hemmer expands the very notion of what public art is and can be. His works are an invitation to consider how art can rewire our shared spaces and, ultimately, our shared future.” —Hans Ulrich Obrist, Curator
“Lozano-Hemmer has the rare ability to transform public spaces into intimate, poetic moments that prompt us to reflect on who we are. His work turns our act of listening into an active exercise of citizenship.” —Tania Bruguera, Artist and Activist
Border Tuner documents Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s participatory art installation composed of powerful searchlights forming bridges of light that opened live channels for direct communication across the US-Mexico border. At a time of intense anti-immigrant rhetoric, militarized surveillance, and nationalist violence, the artwork connected the sister cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, creating a platform for people to converge along the border to speak to one another and listen across the divide. This volume features extensive documentation of the artwork and its activation by tens of thousands of people who gathered to honor the interdependence of life at the border.
Published by Inventory Press and edited by Michael Nardone and Edgar Picazo Merino, the book includes texts in both English and Spanish that critically examine the legacy of Border Tuner within the wider frame of artistic production along the U.S.-Mexico border. Contributors include Kerry Doyle, Tatiana Flores, Juan Luis Longoria Granados, Robin Greeley, Andrea Blancas Beltrán and Léon De la Rosa-Carrillo, Sergio Raúl Arroyo, Willivaldo Delgadillo, Lucía Sanromán, and Cuauhtémoc Medina.
Alongside the release of the book, the artist will also screen a 48-minute film documenting the cross-border conversations had during the artwork’s installation, distilled from over 500 hours of archival footage, which is part of the collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Upcoming book launches and film screenings include:
April 15, 2026, 5pm: Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Kerry Doyle, Edgar Picazo Merino and Michael Nardone. In Spanish.
April 21, 2026, 6pm: Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Kerry Doyle, Edgar Picazo Merino and Michael Nardone. In English. Details here.
April 26, 2026, 12pm: Mexican American Cultural Center, in collaboration with the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at the University of Texas, El Paso, with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Kerry Doyle, Edgar Picazo Merino and Michael Nardone. In English. Details here.
April 27, 2026, 6pm: Centro Cultural de las Fronteras, Universidad Autónoma, Ciudad Juárez, with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Kerry Doyle, Edgar Picazo Merino and Michael Nardone. In Spanish.
May 5, 2026, 7pm: Giorgione Cinema D’Essai, Venice, Italy, with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Cuauhtémoc Medina. In English.
May 7, 2026, 10am: bruno, Venice, Italy, with Michael Nardone. In English.
Full details of events here.
Border Tuner / Sintonizador Fronterizo, ISBN 978-1-941753-88-0, 7.5 × 10 inches, 304 pages, softcover, 45 USD.
Edited by: Michael Nardone and Edgar Picazo Merino / Designed by: IN-FO.CO / Published by: Inventory Press / Distributed by: ARTBOOK D.A.P. / Categories: Art, Theory, Border Studies / Languages: English, Spanish / Bilingual edition supported by Arte Abierto / Supported by the Antimetric Institute.
About Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is a media artist working at the intersection of architecture and performance art. He creates platforms for public participation using technologies such as robotic lights, digital fountains, computerized surveillance, media walls, and telematic networks.
About Inventory Press
Founded in 2014, and based in Los Angeles, Inventory Press publishes books on topics in art, architecture, design, and music, with an emphasis on subcultures, minor histories, and the sociopolitical aspects of material culture.
