A “Radical’ in Our Midst: Crossing Borders as Art

(Naj Wikoff — Lake Placid News)

Jerilea Zempel got a call from the Financial Times of Finland asking for information about her art. This was followed a day later by a call from the Colbert Report. They wanted to interview her. She knew something was up. She Googled herself to find scores of references to her being delayed for several hours by U.S. Customs as she attempted to return from installing one of her works of art, in this case the blanketing of a rented Hyundai Santa Fe with a form fitting crocheted white cozy at the Cultural Capital Festival in Sackville, New Brunswick.

The delay at the Houlton, Maine crossing irked her. She had a long, long drive home to Keene Valley. She had just finished two arduous weeks finishing and installing her art. She was tired. But more, the customs agents had gone through her laptop computer, her cell phone, her digital camera, her suitcases, her art materials, which included boxes of yarn, crochet tools and her sketchbook. It was invasive. It was creepy. Imagine complete strangers reading all your mail, diaries, checkbook statements and other records right in front of you and there is nothing you can do or say to stop them.

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“The border used to be open and friendly,” Zempel said. “People on both sides used to cross easily all the time. No more. I became aware of this a year ago returning to the U.S. on a bus from Toronto. They had us stand out in the cold for hours while they went through everyone’s baggage.” Read the complete article here.