Wifi

For the BLURRED LINES art residency and exhibition, the Venezuelan visual artist Ronald Pizzoferrato reflected on the influence of connectivity on the feeling of security. Ronald Pizzoferrato designed a big sign saying “Free wifi” and installed a wifi router that provided free and unlimited internet access. WIFI was not only an artistic intervention but also a practical resource that people could mobilize at the Cúcuta border. Whether to communicate with family members and friends, ask for help or search for information about legal processes in a new country, Internet connectivity means safety for migrants. His work called people’s attention, congregating a lot of users and visitors. Residing in Bern (Switzerland) since 2014, Ronald Pizzoferrato’s interests revolve around identity, migration, violence and decolonization. As a foreigner in Bern, he brings to our attention the fact that in Switzerland, people have access to free wifi around cities. In Venezuela, for instance, this is not a reality. Differences such as these are fundamental to widen our understanding of how to increase security in border zones.