Mending Wall is a series of eight grappling hooks, each is designed to overcome a corresponding prototype of President Trump’s proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico. The federally funded border wall prototypes were constructed in 2017 in San Diego, California, right across the border from Tijuana, Mexico. While the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico has rarely been easy, the two countries have many years of successful bilateral relations. Despite the threat of physical barriers, the two countries are forever entwined–no wall or President will change that.

Ramón Jiménez Cárdenas uses contextual design as an approach to deconstruct contested-structures which he defines as sites of social tension. His designs and sculptures often blend disciplines and comment on current events. Ramón is invested in redefining existing typologies as means of being critical about design. His intent to use the disciplines of art and design to comment on social schemes can give us a lens to decompose problems and look for contemporary solutions.