Artist Bio:

Born in Wichita, Kansas, fine art photographer Tom Kiefer was raised primarily in the Seattle area and worked in Los Angeles as a graphic designer. Kiefer moved to Ajo, Arizona in December 2001 to fully develop and concentrate his efforts in studying and photographing the urban and rural landscape and the cultural infrastructure of the United States.

Beginning in July 2003, he started working part-time as a janitor at a nearby U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility. A few years later when given permission to collect the food migrants and asylum seekers carried with them when crossing the desert he also found personal belongings seized and discarded by officials. Kiefer resigned in August 2014 to work on photographing and documenting these items full time.

The migrants’ belongings, necessary for hygiene, comfort, and survival, were deemed “non-essential” or “potentially lethal.” Kiefer commemorates the untold stories these objects embody in photographs akin to portraits, preserving traces of human journeys cut short.

Candy Target

Created in 2014, Tom Kiefer’s Candy Target, as the name implies, is a collection of cough drops and hard candy arranged along the top of a shooting target that would be used on a gun range or training area. This target in particular was used by the United States Customs and Border Patrol, and the candies that were laid over the target were all carried by people who were desperate to cross the border, seeking asylum and a better life. The pretty combination of sweet, colorful candy with a dirty, violent shooting target is a wonderful juxtaposition of feelings and visuals, showing the innocence and purity of the migrants and the strict and unfair rules enforced by the Border Patrol. This use of contrast makes the viewer instantly side with the migrants and resonate with them extremely clearly, and the piece’s execution of portraying the unfairness of the Border Patrol is extremely concise.

The piece is part of a collection called, "El Sueño Americano (the American Dream),” and the purpose of this series is to represent the lasting effects that the Border Patrol has left on migrants and smugglers who tried to cross the border, but failed. Kiefer’s goal is to show the desperation of all of the people who tried to cross the border in order to achieve a better life, but ultimately had their humanity stripped from them; his collection helps the viewers establish a much more personal and intimate collection, as they probably have no way to relate to such an experience. The strange yet broad range of mysterious photographs in the collection allow the viewer to ponder what life is like for the migrants who seek asylum, and the viewers can do their best to extend their passion to everyone who failed to make it across.