Earthwork

Red Sand Project at Bush Intercontinental Airport

In 2018, Haskins Design and Build installed this earthwork designed by Molly Gochman, a New-York based artist who works around the world to raise awareness around human trafficking. It was a 650-foot long x 3-foot wide line of red sand in the shape of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Process

We removed the grass along this entire area, hauled it away to a dirt lot that accepted grassy earth to be processed back into useful topsoil, set a sturdy, mocha-brown composite edging along the entire boundary - 1,300’ of edging that would visually disappear into the earth so the red sand could shine. Every bit of this edging was later scrubbed to remove the red sand and stabilizing polymer and repurposed in future landscape projects.

We then laid out landscape fabric to create a necessary barrier between the earth and the sand and spread an amount of brilliant red sand that I can’t recall. It was a lot. We then stabilized the sand with a locally-contrived polymer, in this windy area atop a hill that lived just under a near-constant stream of freshly departed planes.

The idea was that the folks in those planes could look down, see the red line, and their curiosity could guide them to a brief internet search that leads to more awareness around human trafficking, especially in an environment (the airport) where this activity may take place in plain sight. That said, as the installer and not the artist, I’m not the best person to explain the idea behind this earthwork. Here’s an article with more detail.

“Gochman launched the Red Sand Project in 2014 to draw awareness to the horrors of human exploitation. Her unique concept has been featured in every state in the U.S. as well as 70 countries around the world.

Recognition can lead to rescue – keep your eyes open! If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733.”